Sweetest Temptation
by eveningstar1996
Summary: Set at ending of Frostbite and halfway through Shadow Kiss, Rose and Dimitri are struggling with their feelings for each other and trying to not act like they love each other, but it's not easy when there's still a few months till graduation...
1. Chapter 1 Temptation

Ch. 1 Temptation

_We started kissing, and I felt him move his mouth over the side of my neck. I shivered as he sucked on the side of my neck, and moved his lips down to my collarbone._

_I looked into Dimitri's dark, seemingly bottomless eyes. They were full of love….and more than a little bit of lust. _

"_You're making it utterly impossible for me to resist you," I whispered, pulling him even closer to me and kissing him softly. There was virtually no space between us._

_I felt him laugh and he whispered back in his Russian accent, "Roza, you have no idea how hard it is to resist you whenever I see you."_

"_Oh?" I asked, and without a second thought took off the blouse I was wearing and exposed a rather skimpy tank top. "What about now?"_

_I felt his heartbeat accelerate even more quickly as I moved my fingers up against his chest, and then tossed his shirt over his head and to the other side of my room. _

_We kissed even more passionately, and we stumbled over to my bed while I unzipped his jeans. I ran my fingers over the soft skin of his chest, and he let out a soft sigh. _

_He brought his lips down to the exposed skin of my shoulders and chest, and kissed those spots very fiercely. I wouldn't be surprised if there would be bruises left there tomorrow. Hell, maybe even by the time we were-_

_My thoughts were interrupted as his hands traveled down to a certain dangerous area. I gasped, and we kept kissing and he took off my-_

BEEP! BEEP!

I groaned and rolled over in my bed. "Right when we were going to get to the good part too," I muttered, slamming down the button on that stupid alarm clock. This dream wasn't going to be helping me out any.

I flopped back into my bed, and closed my eyes. That dream of me with Dimitri was so vivid…if only we could get all hot and heavy. But the only time we'd gotten even close was the lust charm that Victor Dashkov had unleashed on us…

I blinked open my eyes and stared at the clock. It read 5:10. In the "morning" (figuratively speaking, since we run on a nocturnal schedule)

Oh, CRAP, I thought, scrambling out of bed. Practice was supposed to have started 10 minutes ago! Dimitri was going to _kill_ me.

I flew around my room, pulling on a shirt, sweats, and sneakers, before rapidly brushing my teeth and grabbing a bottle of water and flying down the stairs and out of my dorm.

I broke into a sprint and headed for the gym as fast as I could, my dark hair flying out crazily behind me. The cold air made it a little hard to breathe, but I kept running towards the gym.

I stopped in the room, panting, and looked up at the clock. 5:15. My eyes fell on Dimitri, and my heart started racing as I took all of him in.

All of his six-seven glory was sitting on a chair, reading a Western. He looked up at my approach, and raised his eyebrow. I could feel all the tension between us practically simmering in the air.

"Sorry, sorry," I apologized, even though I really wasn't sorry. I needed my beauty sleep after all, and after that dream…

"You're fifteen minutes late," he pointed out in that irresistible Russian accent of his.

"Sorry, Comrade," I shot back playfully as I bound my hair into a ponytail and stepped back. "I'll be up at 4 PM sharp next time."

Dimitri rolled his eyes. "You can barely get up at your normal time, let alone a whole hour early," he said, setting his book down and getting up. "Go through your normal routine, and then run five laps around the track."

I wanted to complain about the laps in such cold weather, but I doubted he'd be very sympathetic. And I guess I deserved it for running fifteen minutes late to practice. Oh well.

To my surprise, as I started my warm-up exercises, Dimitri sat down next to me and started doing them with me. He was sitting so close to me that there was barely any space between us.

"Why are you doing my routine with me today?" I asked, stretching towards my toes and holding it for ten seconds. "Read too many Westerns?"

Dimitri laughed, one of his rare full laughs. "It's impossible to ever read too many Westerns."

"You're the only one who'd say that," I murmured to myself as I stretched to my other foot.

After finishing my five laps (Dimitri ran those with me too), we moved on to a sparring exercise.

My breath hitched a little inappropriately when he told me. Although it wouldn't be exactly the type of touching I wanted, it would at least give me an excuse to touch him…

Studying Dimitri, he looked a little amused-and a bit eager. But when I looked at him again, his face was clear of emotion in the blank guardian face he was so good at.

"You're going to get your ass kicked," I murmured as we squared off on the gym mats, facing each other.

There was a slight hint of a smile in Dimitri's voice when he spoke. "That's really not a bad idea."

My mouth almost wanted to drop. Who knew that Dimitri could-and actually knew how to-talk dirty?

I hid my feelings and lunged at him. He effortlessly blocked my arm and twisted my arm behind my back.

I aimed a slight kick at his leg but he blocked it and without an effort, threw me to the gym mat so he was on top, his hands holding my wrists.

"I win," he said.

"You cheated," I accused, sticking my tongue out at him.

He smirked. "I didn't. I just have more experience than you."

I rolled my eyes. "Being seven years older than me doesn't give you more experience, Comrade."

Silence hung in the air, and I realized that we were still on the gym mat...and I was under him. His hand still held my wrists. Our bodies were pressed very warmly together, and I could feel his heart racing through the shirt he wore.

My eyes dropped down to his lips and then back to his eyes. I wanted to kiss him more than anything else in the world. More than that, I wanted him to kiss me and want me back in the same way I did.

"Roza…" My name was like a soft prayer on his lips.

I knew, from his whisper, he wanted to kiss me as much as I wanted to kiss him. He was trying very hard to hold back and not give in to what he wanted.

I had very little self-control. But I was trying to work on it. And kissing him when we were trying to keep our feelings for each other a secret till graduation…I suppose that really wouldn't help our current situation.

But goddamn, he was so gorgeous and we were so close that we didn't have any space between us…and he wasn't letting go of me… It was so frustrating, to have Dimitri so close to me but we were unable to kiss.

He hesitated. I could see the conflict in his eyes. There was nothing more than he wanted to kiss me, but doing so would set off the sparks and feelings we had for each other.

Disappointed, I watched him pull back a little for me. I guess it was too much for, wishing that he would kiss me. He was very good at self-control, unlike me…

He leaned down and kissed me very softly on the lips.


	2. Chapter 2 The Future

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Vampire Academy.

* * *

Ch. 2 The Future

I was shocked at him kissing me, although I kissed him back. Dimitri, the picture of self-control, who was always the one holding back…

I didn't care what had made him give in to his desire of kissing me.

We kept kissing, and he slid his hands up under my neck and held me close. My skin felt so warm where he touched me.

He kissed the side of my neck, attacking it with fierce kisses that were sure to leave marks by the time he was through.

I slid my hands up under his shirt and touched his stomach. He let out a soft moan and kept kissing me fiercely, leaving a trail of kisses down from my mouth to my chest.

"I love you, Roza," he whispered, tenderly stroking the side of my face.

"I love you too," I whispered, closing my eyes at his touch.

We stopped kissing and just lay there for a moment. "Dimitri, I never thought you'd lose your self-control like that," I teased him.

Dimitri smiled. "It's not easy holding back from you," he answered, pressing a kiss to my forehead. "Now come on. Class is going to start in about ten minutes."

"Just one more?" I pleaded, looking up into those dark eyes that I loved.

He sighed and rolled his eyes. "Self-control is better you in the long run," he said in that wise teacher way of his.

"Oh look at all the Zen-"

He interrupted me by giving me a long, hot kiss. His tongue played against my own, and now all I could think of was how much more I wanted than just kissing. Too soon, our kiss ended.

He got up, and I felt a keen sense of loss at not feeling his warmth. "Let's go."

He extended his hand to me, and I took it. We held hands for a moment as we walked towards the exit, and let go once we were outside the gym.

I yawned and stretched. The sun was setting over the horizon, but the last rays softly illuminated the landscape around us, and it felt warm.

* * *

For the rest of the day, I couldn't stop thinking about Dimitri and what we'd done in the gym. He'd actually given in to his own desires instead of holding back like he normally would.

I sighed and dreamily stared off into space in the cafeteria. If only…

"Rose? Rose?"

I looked up with a start. Lissa's jade green eyes were looking at me with concern. "Are you okay? You've been daydreaming the whole day!"

"Oh, I'm fine," I said, taking a sip of my soda. Better than fine, actually.

Although Lissa was my best friend in the whole world, I couldn't tell her about me and Dimitri. I was sure she'd understand-or at least try to-but this was hard. There had been times where I desperately wanted to tell her, but I never had the chance.

My phone beeped, and I pulled it out and looked at it. My heart raced when I saw it was from Dimitri.

Roza,

I need to talk to you tonight. Can I come to your room? –D

I quickly texted him back. Yeah. Just come after curfew. – R

A slight smile crossed my face as I put the phone away. I would finally get a chance to see and talk to him. But I wondered what he wanted to talk to me about.

Lissa examined me curiously. "You look even happier than before."

How could she know- My aura. Shit, shit, shit.

"How's my little dhampir doing today?" I heard a voice from behind me.

I scowled and whipped around. Adrian Ivashkov was standing there, his emerald green eyes glinting at me in amusement.

"When will you stop calling me little dhampir?" I said in exasperation as he sat beside me. Secretly, I was glad he'd come and interrupted my conversation with Lissa.

Adrian shrugged. "Never."

* * *

That night I couldn't wait for Dimitri to come over to my room. Once curfew was called, very people were awake. It would make it easier for Dimitri to sneak over.

I had just finished towel drying my hair when there was a knock at the door.

I threw on a tank top and shorts before I flew to the door and yanked it open.

Dimitri was standing there, his dark gorgeous eyes on me. "You just got out of the shower?"

I flashed him a smile as he came in and I locked the door behind him. "What do you think, Comrade?"

He sat down on my bed, and looked over at me. I sat down next to him. "I wanted to talk to you…about our future."

And there was the topic I'd been thinking about during lunch. I sighed. "I know…"

"Lissa needs two guardians who are perfectly dedicated to her," Dimitri said, intertwining my hands with his. "That's why I think…after you graduate, I'll ask to be reassigned."

My heart almost stopped. "Reassigned?"

"Someone at Court," he added gently. "That way, when we're off, we can still get to see each other."

I tried to keep my frown in, but I realized he had a point. If we were both her guardians, we wouldn't have had any time off to see each other. "I guess you have a point."

"This is for us," Dimitri whispered, taking my hand and kissing it. "It'll work in the long run."

"I really hope so," I murmured, laying my head against his shoulder. "But…what if you get assigned to someone who's not at Court?"

He pulled away from me so he could look at me. "You know how royals and high-ranking Moroi are always first priority when it comes to guardians."

I grimaced, but I knew he was right. It was a sad fact that royals and important Moroi got high priority over "commoners" when it came to guardians. There simply weren't enough guardians to allocate to everyone.

"And…I wanted to give you this."

I curiously watched Dimitri pull out a velvet box and he held it out to me. "Oh, Dimitri." What could possibly be in the box?

"Open it," he urged me, kissing my cheek.

I took the box and flipped it open with trembling hands.

It was a ring.


	3. Chapter 3 Control or not

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Vampire Academy.

* * *

Ch. 3 Control…or not

The ring was silver, and twisted into an infinity symbol on the front. When I flipped the ring over, I spied some words engraved.

Together forever, Rose and Dimitri

I looked up at Dimitri, my eyes full of emotion. "I love it. Thank you so much."

Dimitri slid the ring over my right ring finger and held my hand in his to admire it. "Beautiful," he whispered.

I hugged him, and I felt his arms go around me.

"It's a promise ring," he said, entwining our hands together again. "I thought a while before I chose this and had it engraved."

"Thank you," I murmured, admiring the ring on my finger too. I knew once it was day again, I wouldn't be able to wear it, but it was the most precious thing I owned now.

Our eyes met, and it occurred to me how there was absolutely no one around. Everyone else was asleep. And it was the middle of the night… Judging from the look in Dimitri's eyes, he was thinking the same thing.

He pulled me to him, and started kissing me. I could practically feel the electricity in the air around us as we kissed and kissed.

He pushed me back onto the bed as we kissed. I pulled his shirt off him, and he let out a soft groan as I ran my hands up along his ripped stomach.

"Roza," he whispered.

I gasped as he ran his lips against my neck and trailed it down to my chest like in the gym. This time, he took off my tank top and kissed the skin in between my breasts. I couldn't help a moan at the feel of his lips there. God did it feel good.

I pulled him even closer to me and kissed his lips and down to his jawline. He sighed, and we kept kissing and getting closer.

As my hands went to his jeans, he held my hand and rested it on his waist. "Be patient," he whispered, bringing my hand to his mouth and kissing it.

I really wanted to pout. "Just when I was going to take that off…"

"Graduation," he promised, kissing my neck.

"You know, for someone who has such good self-control, you really weren't showing it," I teased as I lay my head against his warm chest.

I felt his soft laughter rumble in his chest as he hugged me. "Roza, when will you learn how irresistible you are to me?"

"Never?" I asked flirtatiously as I turned around to look at him.

I remembered I wasn't wearing a top, and his eyes slid from my face and down to the rest of my body. He actually gulped a little.

"You see something you like?" I asked, echoing something I'd said when he'd caught me without a shirt on a few months ago.

"Lots," he murmured, stroking my shoulder and planting a soft kiss on it.

I couldn't help but yawn. He looked over at my alarm clock. The clock read 12, which meant "midnight" for us.

"Time for us to get some sleep," Dimitri murmured, kissing my forehead. He got up off of my bed, and threw my tank top at me. I quickly pulled it on, and Dimitri came back to my side. He'd put on his T-shirt, which hugged his body very well.

"Do you have to go?" I murmured, looking up at him.

"Yes, or I might actually have to cancel practice," he said jokingly.

I stuck my tongue out at him, but he kissed my lips. I closed my eyes, and I felt him tuck my blankets around me.

"I love you, Dimitri," I murmured.

"I love you too, Roza," he answered, stroking my face. "Good night."

Before the door had quietly shut behind him, I was asleep.

* * *

The next morning, I awoke with a smile on my face. Last night's encounter with Dimitri made me just want to whistle and skip around campus singing.

I looked at the ring on my finger. With a sigh, I took it off and put it back in the velvet box before putting it safely into my nightstand.

I pulled my hair back into a ponytail and got dressed for practice. Unlike yesterday, I wouldn't have to rush to the gym.

I strolled along the path to the gym. Adrian fell into step beside me, and raised his eyebrows at me. "Good morning little dhampir."

I stifled a yawn. "Morning Adrian. Why are you up so early?"

Adrian held up a bottle of Russian vodka and I groaned, shaking my head . "Getting drunk so early. Do you even have a liver left?"

"I didn't even start on it," he said cheerily. He looked at me as he spoke, and raised his eyebrows again. "Well, someone looks happy."

"Not that you'd care to know," I muttered, taking a sip from my bottle.

"Don't tell me you were with your cradle-robbing mentor," Adrian sighed, taking a big swig of vodka. When I didn't respond, he groaned. "There'd be no other reason why you'd be so happy."

"Oh come on, food does make me happy too," I added, trying to lighten the mood. Adrian was the only one who knew about my relationship with Dimitri, and his own feelings for me complicated things even more.

Adrian shook his head. "I'm not fooled, little dhampir." He swept a gallant bow as we neared the gym. "Have fun with your Russian jail keeper."

I rolled my eyes. "Thanks a lot."

Practice wasn't too strenuous much to my surprise. Dimitri wasn't really acting like himself although he tried to hide it from me.

I watched him when I was doing my warm-ups and cool-downs. He wasn't fooling me.

"What's wrong?" I asked him softly when practice ended.

Dimitri shook his head and forced a smile. "Nothing you need to worry about."

I tried to give him as fierce a look I could manage. Judging from the slightest hint of amusement in his eyes, it wasn't working. "Comrade, I know you better than that."

He shook his head again. "I'll tell you later, alright?"

I sighed. "Fair enough. After school?"

He hesitated. "I'm…cancelling practice. But come by anyway."

Whoa. Something was definitely going on, that he would cancel practice. I nodded, and exited the gym.

* * *

So how was my third chapter? I promise there's a plot to this, and it's not just Rose and Dimitri making out all the time. Enjoy :)


	4. Chapter 4 I want to go with you

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Vampire Academy.

Ch. 4 I want to go with you

I stepped back into the gym after school ended, and looked around.

There was no sign of Dimitri, and my heart sank. No practice meant no seeing Dimitri until tomorrow.

I felt someone cover my eyes and hug me from behind.

"Comrade, is that you?" I asked.

The soft laughter assured me that it was Dimitri. He let go of me, and I turned around to face him.

He definitely looked like he was in a better mood than earlier, although I could tell he was still anxious. A slight crease crossed his forehead, and his dark eyes were worried.

"What had you worried this morning?" I asked, sitting down on the floor. He sat down next to me.

He sighed. "I got a phone call from my family."

I remembered he had told me they lived in a small village in Siberia…but I couldn't remember the name. "What happened?"

"One of my sisters was injured in a car accident," he whispered, staring off at the wall across the gym.

"Oh God," I whispered, reaching out and touching his hand. "Is she alright?"

He sighed. "She received a minor concussion and might have to undergo some surgery."

"Can't you get leave and return home so you can see her?" I asked. I knew how much his family meant to him although he didn't talk about them much.

Dimitri said," Probably…but the school's on high alert after the Strigoi massacres over winter break. It'll be a little harder-"

"Go!" I exclaimed, making him stare at me in amazement. "Family comes first, even before the Moroi."

He knew what I was talking about. All of us training to be guardians have had a motto drilled into us from the time we could talk. _They come first_. Nothing but keeping the Moroi safe was important.

"But…it means leaving campus for...I don't know how long. A week, at the very least."

"I'm sure we'll have enough guardians," I said, trying to appear more confident than I sounded. "I mean, it is just one guardian that's leaving." Even if it was the most badass guardian around.

He sighed and squeezed my hand. "I'll ask for vacation for a week. I'll miss you, Roza."

I wanted to go with Dimitri but I was pretty sure he'd stop me if I tried. After all, the field experience was coming up soon… "I'll miss you a lot."

Dimitri eyed me suspiciously. "I know that look in your eyes."

"What look?" I asked, trying to sound innocent.

"That look that says you want to come to Russia with me."

Damn. He just knew me that well. "Well…Fine. You're right. I want to come to Russia with you."

Dimitri shook his head. "Absolutely not. You have to stay in school. It's not safe outside the school wards. And you'd be taking a week off from school."

I frowned. "Then why is it safer for just you to travel? Two is better than one."

He gave me a stern look. "No. Furthermore, how would you explain to the school officials why I'm taking you with me? If they let a second person come with me, it would probably be another guardian."

I got up and faced him. I wasn't going to get to see him for a week, so I decided that it would be best for me to leave now. "Well, I hope you'll be able to see your family as soon as you can. I'll see you when you come back."

"Bye," Dimitri murmured, as I exited the gym.

Ugh. I hated it when my reasonable side took over. I stopped near a tree not too far from the gym, and took a deep breath.

If I hadn't been trying to have more self-control, I would've protested and yelled. I would've done whatever necessary to get Dimitri to let me go with him. I did make some protests, but probably not to the same scale that he was expecting.

I made it back to my room and sat down to do my homework. Lissa tried to call me to her through our bond. _Rose, can we talk?_ Her emotions were running a little haywire and all over the place.

"Not now," I muttered to myself as I got out of my dorm and started running to the Moroi dorms.

Lissa was waiting for me in her room. She looked fine, even though I was pretty sure she wasn't.

"Okay, Liss. What's wrong?"

She bit her lip, her jade-green eyes worried. "I don't know what happened to Christian."

Great. Boyfriend drama. "Weren't you with him at lunch?"

She shook her head. "No, and he hasn't texted me either! He always texts me..." She trailed off.

As mean as it was for me to think, I thought she was being a little self-centered. Her boyfriend went missing for a day, and now she was getting frantic.

"Relax, I'm sure he's fine," I soothed, patting her arm. "Maybe he's sick and hasn't gotten a chance to get to the phone."

Lissa's jade green eyes widened. "Oh! You're probably right."

I sighed in my own mind. If only my problems were as easily resolved as hers.

She looked at me in concern. "Rose, are you really okay? You were kind of spacey during lunch."

"Yeah, I'm fine," I said, trying to make it look like I was fine. I really longed to blurt out that I wasn't fine because the love of my life would be going back to Russia for a week, and I would miss him a lot.

Lissa got up, and I sensed she wanted to go find Christian, wherever he was. "Well…"

"I'll just get going now," I said, relieved. "I really do need to finish my homework."

She nodded, and we walked out of her dorm together. "See you later, Liss."

"Bye," she answered.

I arrived back in my room a few minutes later, and sat staring out the window. Well, this was going to be a very interesting night-not.

There was a knock on the door. I stood up and opened the door to see Dimitri.

"I'm leaving for the airport now," he said. He was carrying a suitcase, and bundled up warmly.

"Be careful, Comrade," I sighed, giving him a quick cheek kiss.

"I will," he murmured, hugging me tightly. "See you in a week."

He gave me a quick peck on the lips, and he was gone. I sighed and lay down on my bed. Well. This was going to be interesting without him.

There was another knock on the door. Surprised, I stood up and opened it. Adrian was standing there this time. Good God. Men everywhere.

"What do you want?" I grumbled, rubbing my eyes.

"Little dhampir, you look glum," he remarked. "Can I come in?"

I shrugged. "Sure, I guess." I let him in, but left the door open.

"I have something that'll make you happy," Adrian said, standing in the doorway. His eyes followed me as I straightened up my room.

"Does it come in a bottle?" Frankly, I wanted a little alcohol to loosen me up and make me happy for a little bit.

Adrian shook his head. "No. Something that'll make you really happy."

I sighed and tried to think a little harder. I was also a little surprised at how his voice sounded so uneasy when he spoke. "A huge two-pound box of chocolates?"

"No. A two-way plane ticket to Russia."


	5. Chapter 5 To Russia

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Vampire Academy.

Ch. 5 To Russia

"You're kidding." I was too shocked to think of anything more eloquent. It was impossible. How could Adrian have even found out about Dimitri's trip? I was pretty sure besides me and possibly Alberta, no one else would know.

Adrian rolled his eyes. "Believe me, little dhampir, I'm not kidding. I have a two-way ticket to Russia. And if you go, you're on the same plane as the cradle-I mean Belikov."

My mouth was hanging open now. I looked into Adrian's green eyes and I could see he was telling the truth. I mentally chastised myself for thinking the worst of him. He wasn't always bad.

"But…why?" I asked. I knew perfectly well that Adrian wasn't a fan of me being in love with Dimitri. Given the chance, if I ever stopped loving Dimitri…Adrian would be there to take his place.

Adrian's eyes softened as they regarded me. I was a little surprised at the warm feelings in his eyes. "Because I want you to be happy, Rose. I know that you'll be miserable without Dimitri if you aren't with him, and I know you hardly get to see him already."

I was still in shock that he was basically accepting that I would be miserable without Dimitri. "And also how did you even know he was going to Russia and get a ticket so fast?"

Adrian now laughed. "I was near Guardian Petrov's office, and I heard him giving her all the trip details. As for the ticket? I just went online and booked one right after I heard him."

"Thank you, Adrian," I whispered, touched by how he would do this for me.

"Hurry," he said, handing me a ticket and a wad of $10, 000 in American money. "The plane takes off in two and a half hours, and I have to drive you to Missoula. Pack, and be ready in ten."

He left the room, and I quickly flew around the room, throwing clothes and a bag of toiletries into my small suitcase. I critically regarded the tank top and sweats I wore, and quickly threw on a hoodie and some boots.

Before running out the door, my eyes fell on my nightstand. The promise ring! If my friends tore apart my room to look for clues where I'd gone, they'd find the ring. I planned to tell them after graduation about me and Dimitri.

I quickly took out the box containing my promise ring and shoved the ring onto my finger before tossing the box into my suitcase.

I quietly went down the stairs with my suitcase in one hand and left the dorm. Adrian was waiting for me outside, smoking a cigarette.

He turned at my footsteps and his face lit up. He instantly dropped his cigarette on the floor and stamped it out. I was going to scold him for littering on campus, but decided to give him a break. He had cut back a little on smoking anyway.

"And since when did you have your own car?" I asked as we started walking towards the parking lot near the front of the Academy.

He smirked as he pressed down on the keys and the car beeped. "I don't. Even I don't have that much money to afford one. I just borrowed a car."

I frowned. "What did you even tell the person lending you the car?"

He didn't answer, and suddenly I was a little scared of what he'd done. We stopped in front of a very red shiny Ferrari that looked brand new. "_Please_ don't tell me you used compulsion."

His silence confirmed it further, and I sighed. Then another problem occurred to me as I sat next to him. "Wait. How are you going to get me out of the Academy?"

"Little dhampir, you already answered it," he replied as he started the engine and started backing up the car.

My mouth dropped for the second time tonight. "Adrian! If you use too much spirit…"

"I'm fine," he interrupted me. "And I'm only using a little so it shouldn't affect me." Key word-shouldn't.

I sighed, but I really couldn't think of any other option besides compulsion. Even worse, he didn't have someone bonded to him to absorb the effects of spirit.

We stopped at the gates on our way out, and Adrian compelled the guardians into not being able to see me. After five minutes, we were on our way to Missoula.

It took us about an hour to get there, which meant I had an hour and a half left until my flight took off.

Adrian stopped the car at the Departures sign, and helped me out with my luggage. He placed it on the curb and we stood there a bit awkwardly for a moment.

"Well, I guess that's it," I murmured, looking down at my small suitcase.

Adrian nodded, his expression carefully clear of any emotions. To my surprise, he leaned over and hugged me tightly.

"Please, Rose…be careful in Russia," he whispered as he held me.

"Of course," I said, surprised, but I hugged him back. "Nothing in Russia can take me down." At least, so I hoped.

He held me at arm's length. There were conflicting emotions in Adrian's eyes. Suddenly I knew that for all his joking and teasing, he really cared about me. Although he really hated the idea of me being with Dimitri, his desire for me to be happy overwhelmed it.

He shocked me even more by kissing me on the cheek, a soft quick peck. "See you in a week," he murmured before getting into the car and driving away.

I stood there for a moment, shell-shocked. My hand went to the spot where he'd kissed my cheek. It tingled a little, from the warmth of his lips.

_Adrian had just kissed my cheek_. If he'd been acting like a player, he could've stolen a kiss on my mouth. But instead, he'd just kissed my cheek.

* * *

My phone beeped, alerting me to how I had exactly one and a half hour until my flight took off. Crap. I had to check in and go through security.

I ran into the airport, and quickly checked in my carry-on. I tore into the security area at a sprint. The only metal I had on me was my promise ring, but they didn't seem too concerned about that.

After going through security, I started walking towards the gate where my flight would take off.

Along the way I passed by some magazine shops, and decided to purchase a few fashion magazines. I had no idea how long the flight would take, and I guessed we'd be flying more than few hours to get to Russia.

I stuffed the magazines into my suitcase, and eyed the restaurants around me. God, I was so hungry. I was pretty sure I hadn't actually had anything to eat since lunchtime, and that had been hours ago. It was almost seven in the morning-"nighttime" for us.

I went into a sandwich store and paid for a sandwich before I quickly devoured it. It didn't taste very good, but I was hungry and I did need to eat.

As I kept walking, my thoughts turned to Dimitri. Would he be angry that I was coming with him to Russia? Would he try to send me back? I shivered a little at the last thought.

No, I firmly decided. He wouldn't do that to me, after all the effort that I went through to see him. He'd probably try to dissuade me from coming, but he wouldn't send me back.

I finally stepped into the gate where my flight would take off later. My eyes scanned the area until it fell on a tall, dark-haired man sitting a few feet away from me, who was reading what seemed to be a Western.

As if he could sense me, he looked up and his eyes widened when he saw me. In that moment, it felt like there was no one but him and me in the airport.

"Roza?"

* * *

More chapters coming~ Hopefully they won't be as short as the first few haha


	6. Chapter 6 In the Air

Disclaimer: I don't own Vampire Academy.

Ch. 6 In the air

"What are you doing here?" he asked, his voice stunned.

"I'm coming with you to Russia," I said softly, walking towards him.

He stared for a moment before he understood what I was saying. "No. It's too dangerous in Russia for you. I don't even understand how you left the Academy."

"I have my ways," I said simply as he took my hand.

"But you should go back," he whispered, looking around the airport. "It's not safe for you to be outside the Academy's wards! Even though you'll be in huge trouble already for venturing out…"

"No, I'm not going to return to the Academy," I said. "I told you, I'm coming with you to Russia."

"But…you don't have a ticket-"

I reached into my hoodie pocket and held up my ticket triumphantly. "Two way ticket from Russia and back, Comrade."

He took the ticket and examined the dates before handing it back to me. "And just where did you get tickets so fast on short notice? I didn't even mention the airport or the dates to you."

Oh geez. This was where I'd have to mention Adrian's involvement. "Well…Adrian was near Alberta's office, and he overheard you guys talking about the trip. And he booked a ticket online when he returned to guest housing."

Dimitri actually looked a little jealous for a moment, but when I looked at him again, it wasn't there. "Adrian did this for you?"

"He said that he knows I'll be unhappy without you," I muttered, looking at the ground. Why did I have to say that?

Silence stretched between us for a moment. I bit my lip as I waited for him to say something.

I looked up at him. His dark eyes were a little distant. "Adrian….he cares much more than I would've believed," he murmured.

I was starting to get worried about what he was saying. "Dimitri?"

He turned to me, and I was surprised to see there was some conflict in his gorgeous face. "Sometimes I wonder if Adrian is the better one for you after all," he said at last.

My mouth nearly hung open. "Dimitri, why would you say something like that?"

"If you were with Adrian, you wouldn't face the same condemnation with him as you would with me once our relationship is out," Dimitri whispered, pain in his voice. "Moroi-dhampir relationships aren't condemned the way ours would be. Adrian is a good man and would treat you well. You'd also…be able to have a baby if you chose."

I knew to a certain degree, Dimitri was right. Moroi and dhampir could have children, and the children were dhampirs. For some reason, dhampirs couldn't have children with each other. If I chose to have a relationship with Adrian…

I shook it off. No. Although I liked Adrian as a friend, and he was good to me, and he showed that he loved me, I couldn't be with him. I didn't feel like I was perfectly in sync with him the way I was with Dimitri. We were so in sync with each other it felt like we were two halves of the same whole.

"I wouldn't choose Adrian over you," I said, hugging him fiercely. "Even if he did give me what I want most-to spend time with you." I had to admit, I was a little surprised that Dimitri could be insecure about me. He always seemed so confident and sure of himself.

He hugged me back. "Are you sure you don't want to stay here in America and wait for me to come back?" I could tell that no matter how tough a face he put on, he did want me to come with him.

"Nope," I said, smirking. "I'm coming along. Besides, my chauffeur already went back home so unless you want me to camp out in the airport for awhile…"

He interrupted me by giving me a fierce passionate kiss. We stood there kissing for a few moments before I had the strength to pull away.

"Comrade, you do realize we're in the middle of the airport making out right?" I asked, trying to raise my eyebrows at him but failing miserably. Damn, I wonder how he could do that.

"Yes, I realize that," Dimitri said, sounding amused. He leaned in and pressed his lips to mine again, his hand sliding up under my hoodie.

We kissed for a few more minutes, losing track of time, until we decided to sit down. I could imagine we were putting on quite a show for everyone else in the airport.

I snuggled up into him, and closed my eyes. The sun was starting to come up over the horizon, and I really wanted to sleep.

"You can sleep on the plane," Dimitri murmured to me, wrapping his arms tightly around me.

I yawned. "But…how much time do we have until the plane takes off?" My question was punctuated with a few yawns in between.

Dimitri turned around. "Forty-five minutes."

"I don't think I can stay awake much longer," I mumbled, yawning hugely at the end. I just wanted to fall into a nice, warm bed and sleep till tomorrow.

"Fine, you can sleep until we need to board the plane," Dimitri relented. I could tell he was smiling when he spoke.

"Night," I murmured, closing my eyes and drifting off into dreams.

* * *

_I was walking with Dimitri on a warm, sunny beach. The sand was a pristine white, and the waves that lapped at our feet were a clear crystal blue. _

_I looked up at Dimitri, my dark hair falling down my back. "It's a nice day to be on the beach."_

_Dimitri nodded in agreement. I suddenly realized that he was shirtless, and all he was wearing were swimming trunks._

"_You look amazing," he whispered in my ear._

_I looked down at myself. I was wearing a small white bikini that stood in nice contrast against my tanned skin. When I looked up again, Dimitri's eyes were lingering on all of my exposed skin._

"_Whoa there, Comrade, I didn't know you liked looking at this, or I'd show it more often," I joked, leaning back to enjoy the sun. _

"_You should," he said, and there was a deep sensual note to his voice._

_I stepped into the waves, letting them lap around my legs. Dimitri came in after me._

_Our eyes met and we started kissing deeply. His hands slid up to my back, exposed by my bikini. _

_He kissed my shoulder, and then made his way up to my neck-_

"Roza, wake up!"

I woke up with a start, blinking sleepily. The sun was blazing onto my face. "W-what?"

"Come on, we're boarding our plane," Dimitri said, pulling me up and picking up my suitcase.

I got to my feet with a groan. They seemed to have fallen asleep too as I got up. "My legs are stiff, and I still want to sleep."

"Sleep on the plane," he said as he led me to the boarding area.

We got on the plane in a few minutes, and to my surprise, we were seated in first-class accommodations. "Dimitri, since when did you have this type of money?" I asked.

He laughed. "Guardian secrets. I'm surprised Adrian heard enough to book a seat next to me."

We sat down in very luxurious leather seats with plenty of leg room. "So you would've been sitting alone?"

"Unless there was an overflow in economy," Dimitri noted as he buckled up.

I buckled up too, and examined our surroundings. All around us were people settling into leather seats. Some didn't look too thrilled about being on a plane. Flight attendants were rushing around and assisting people with luggage.

I set my suitcase down at my feet and yawned. "Now I can go to sleep?"

Dimitri chuckled. "After you listen to the safety video."

I yawned again. "That...t-takes forever."

He smiled and kissed my cheek. "It won't, I promise. There's probably around five minutes before we start taxiing around the runways."

To my surprise, he was right. The plane promptly started to taxi around five minutes later, and the flight attendants were called to their seats.

Within ten minutes, we were lining up to take off. The plane started going faster and faster, and soon we were in the air. My heart leapt. We were on our way to Russia!

"Wake me up when there's food," I told Dimitri as I rested my head on his shoulder.

He laughed and pulled me closer. "The only thing that'll get you up is food."

"That's not true," I protested as I fell asleep. When I fell asleep I slipped into Lissa's head.

* * *

Lissa's POV

"Where is she?" Lissa yelled, throwing her hands into the air. "Rose is missing and none of us know where she is!"

I realized that Adrian hadn't told anyone of his involvement in my trip to Russia. Hell, they didn't even _know_ I was headed for Russia. Through Lissa's eyes, I realized that we were in her room, and Christian, Adrian, and Eddie were all there.

Christian put his arm around her. "Calm down a little Liss," he said soothingly. I noted that she must've found him in the end. "I'm sure Rose can take care of herself."

"Yeah, but why didn't she tell me where she was going?" Lissa was concerned for me, and a little hurt I hadn't told her where I was going.

He shrugged. "Maybe it's personal. But Rose will come back when she's done with…whatever she's doing." At least I could count on Christian to look after Lissa while I was gone, although I thought I did the best job of protecting her.

Lissa paced, her footsteps purposeful. "Do you think we need to tell the authorities?"

"No, they already know." This came from Adrian, who was lounging in a corner. His stylishly messed hair was just messy now, and he looked weary.

Lissa sighed and stared off into space. "I just hope Rose is okay."

* * *

I felt someone nudging me and I blinked sleepily.

"Breakfast," Dimitri murmured into my ear.

"How long was I asleep?" I murmured, stretching a little.

"For three hours," he said, amused. "It's eleven or so, and it's breakfast time."

I sat up straight and studied the menu sitting on the table. "I'll have an omelette with lots of bacon, and I'd like to have pancakes and waffles," I told the flight attendant as she came by.

Dimitri ordered bacon, fried eggs, and sausage. I looked out past him at the window. Outside was nothing but perfect blue sky, and fluffy white clouds. I kind of wished I could reach out and touch the clouds.

"How much longer will it take to fly to Russia?" I asked, looking at Dimitri now.

He shrugged. "Seven hours or so."

"Where are we even landing?" I asked as the flight attendant pushed by with a cart and gave us our food.

He looked at me in exasperation. "Do you ever look at anything? We're landing in Ob."

"Then how will we get to your hometown?" I couldn't remember Dimitri's hometown, but I was pretty sure it wasn't Ob.

"We'll rent a car and drive there. It's about two hours away from Ob."

I sighed. A ten hour flight and a two hour car drive. Fantastic.

"It's going to be after midnight when we arrive," Dimitri added, his tone serious as he forked some food into his mouth. "So you need to be on high alert once we come near Baia."

"Are there lots of Strigoi out there?" I asked as I rapidly scarfed down my breakfast. For airplane food, it actually tasted fantastic.

Dimitri shook his head. "Not from when I was still there, but Strigoi do come by once in awhile."

We finished off our breakfasts and the flight attendant collected our plates. I didn't feel sleepy after eating so much. I reached down to my suitcase, and yanked out one of my fashion magazines.

"Really, Rose?" Dimitri asked, raising his eyebrow at my selection. "Teen Vogue?"

"What?" I demanded, holding the magazine away from him. "It was in case I didn't have anything to do on the flight!"

Dimitri shook his head in amusement but fished out a Western. "And you're one to talk, with your book choices, Comrade," I teased him as I started flipping through the magazine pages.

He pretended to be offended. "Does it bother you?"

"Not at all," I said as I turned back to my magazine.

A few minutes later, he looked over at the magazine page I was on. "That would look gorgeous on you, Roza."

He was talking about a dress I was now eyeing. It was a fiery red color, made of silk, with tiny rosebuds decorating the edge of the skirt, and had two straps. The skirt was short and hung about two inches above the knees, and the back was cut daringly low to expose quite a bit of skin. The model displaying the dress was around the same height as me, and had pale skin and brunette hair.

I sighed in envy. "I would love this dress, except it's expensive, and it's probably at the mall. You know we can't leave the Academy for a shopping spree."

Dimitri nodded. "If we ever see this dress in Russia, I'll buy it for you."

My mouth nearly dropped. "But…it's expensive…"

"Not when you've been saving up payroll for a while," he said, almost smiling. A guardian's payroll wasn't huge, but if you saved up for awhile, you could live comfortably on it.

"Thank you," I murmured, touched. I twirled the promise ring on my finger.

Dimitri looked at the ring. "So you wore it."

"Do you have your own?" I asked, curious.

He rummaged through his bag, and pulled an identical ring out of a small pocket. It was the twin to my own.

I ran my fingers over it, and Dimitri put it on his own finger. We held hands for a moment, and he pressed a kiss to my forehead.

I lay my head on his shoulder, and Dimitri kissed me softly. I closed my eyes as he held me, and soon I'd drifted off into more dreams.

When I woke up a few hours later, it was pitch-black outside the windows. "W-where are we?"

Dimitri turned to me. "We're about four hours away from Ob," he said.

I tried to calculate when I'd fallen asleep. Damn. I'd only wanted an hour long power nap. I'd been asleep for basically nine hours or more. And now it was "day" for us.

For the rest of the flight, I read through my magazines and talked to Dimitri. Since it was now dark, and the humans didn't have good night vision like us…we started to kiss a little. We couldn't get much further than that, and some of the humans were awake.

* * *

We landed in Ob at ten, and we quickly disembarked. Dimitri confidently strode through the airport, navigating the huge crowds. The signs were in Russian, but they all looked Cyrillic to me.

We arrived in the parking lot, and stopped in a car rental office. Dimitri spoke to the man at the desk, speaking rapidly in fluent Russian. I couldn't help but wonder what he was saying.

The man at the desk handed some keys to him, and Dimitri nodded and said something that must've been "thank you." We walked out to the parking lot.

"So, Comrade, what car did we get?" I asked as we passed a few cars.

"A Honda Civic," Dimitri responded as we stopped in front of a silver car. It looked relatively new and well-cared for.

"A Civic?" I exclaimed. "Why couldn't you have gotten something fast?"

Dimitri laughed as he helped me with my luggage but didn't say anything else. We got into the car and started driving for Baia.

* * *

About two and a half hours later, we finally drove into a small town that had a small-village feel. It wasn't a huge town by any standards, but it wasn't a tiny village in the middle of nowhere.

I looked around us, my mouth practically gaping. I had never expected Dimitri's hometown to look like this. In the distance, I thought I could see mountains. When daytime came, I'd see it better.

Dimitri smiled as we drove past a few stores that were still open at this time. "Welcome to Baia."


	7. Chapter 7 Naughty, Naughty

Disclaimer: I don't own Vampire Academy.

Ch. 7 Naughty, Naughty

I stared around at Baia as we kept driving through. As we passed through the middle of town, I turned around. The lights behind us winked like little stars. I could imagine how Baia would look like in the winter, with snow and the lights winking in the darkness.

Finally, we pulled up in front of a modest two-story house. Dimitri got out and took my luggage before he came to me and laced his fingers through my own. "Ready?"

"Yes," I murmured.

We walked up to the door, and Dimitri knocked on the door.

The door opened and a dark-haired woman peeked out. The resemblance between her and Dimitri was so striking I instantly knew that it was his mother.

"Dimka!" she exclaimed, stepping forward to hug him tightly.

"Mama," he responded, hugging her back. There was a string of Russian, and I wistfully regarded them, wishing I could understand.

Dimitri broke apart from his mother. "Rose, this is my mother, Olena. And Mama, this is Rose."

"It's nice to meet you at last, Rose," Olena said in English with a smile, stepping forward to hug me. "Dimka has told me about you."

"I hope they weren't bad," I murmured, pretending to glare at Dimitri.

Olena laughed gently as she released me. "It was all good. Now come in!"

"Is anyone else still up?" Dimitri asked as we stepped in through the door.

Olena shook her head, and pushed back her long brown hair. "No. You know how half the time we must adapt to a human schedule."

Ah. So that explained why the town was so quiet when we'd driven through. To blend in with the rest of town, the dhampirs had to follow a human schedule so it didn't look weird. But I supposed it wouldn't be too hard for dhampirs to follow.

He walked up the stairs, me following behind. Olena sounded somewhat amused when she spoke. "Dimka, don't go into your…er, old room."

"My old room?" he nearly yelled, turning around to face his mother. I cringed and stepped back from him. Dimitri did not look happy about hearing his room called his "old" room. I wondered what had happened to it. My question was answered with Olena's response.

"When you left home…I gave your room to Viktoria." She must be one of his sisters, I thought. He'd never told me his sisters' names.

He quieted instantly, anxiousness in his dark eyes. "Is Viktoria alright?"

Olena nodded. "They decided that the minor surgery was unnecessary, but it could take up to three days before she wakes up. Luckily, the doctors said her coma wasn't life-threatening."

"Thank God," Dimitri breathed, and his tension eased.

"She's also being looked after by a dhampir doctor," Olena added. "If there's anything 'weird' in our blood…well humans would get suspicious."

Dhampirs had originally come from Moroi mixing with humans-half vampire, half human. Over time, the Moroi had started hiding away from the humans and dhampirs were created from Moroi and dhampirs. I didn't know if there was anything "weird" in dhampir blood, but it was a possibility.

"Where am I supposed to sleep now?" Dimitri grumbled. The annoyed look on his face was hilarious. "My 'old' room better not be pink and girly."

"Sleep in the guest room," Olena said, pointing down the hall to a room next to Dimitri's "old" room. I noticed she'd purposely avoided directly commenting on his "pink and girly" comment. "And Rose can stay with you too."

I exchanged a look with Dimitri. Huh. We'd be sharing a room? That was certainly going to be interesting.

* * *

After Olena helped us settle in, we said our goodnights and she padded away quietly down the stairs. The rest of the house was all quiet.

There were two queen-sized beds in the guest room, with a large nightstand in between. The walls were white, with several framed photos of what I assumed to be the Belikov family. The floor was a dark mahogany, with several rugs covering the floor, and there was a bathroom on the far side.

I yawned and looked at the clock on the nightstand. "I really feel like I need a shower."

"Go ahead," Dimitri said, gesturing towards the open bathroom. "I'll go after you."

I looked at him mischievously. "Or why don't we save water, and shower together?"

He raised his eyebrow at me, but clearly he was amused. "Maybe another time, Roza."

I pouted, but I fished out my toiletry bag, and some clothes to put on. I walked into the bathroom, and flipped the light on.

The shower did a lot to clear my head and make me feel a little less grungy after ten hours of flying. I'd just stepped out of the shower with a towel around me when the door opened and Dimitri came in.

"Hey! I just got out," I protested, wrapping the towel a little tighter around me.

"If only I'd come in sooner," Dimitri murmured, wrapping his arms around me.

"You don't mind I'm all wet?" I asked, snuggling a little into him.

He laughed softly. "I only mind that you're wearing a towel." He leaned down and kissed my lips.

I kissed him back fiercely, and before I knew what he was doing, he'd lifted me up so I was now sitting on the counter. I wrapped my legs around his waist, and kept kissing him.

His hand trailed up my leg, under my towel, and against my inner thigh. I gasped as he touched my thighs, and he slid his other hand up against my back.

I leaned up, exposing a bit more skin than I'd been intending, and softly bit his ear and trailed kisses all the way down to his jaw line. He let out a soft moan, and then kissed my shoulder, my arm, my chest…

I gently pushed him away as he was about to kiss a little lower, gasping. "Didn't you say you wanted to take a shower, Comrade?" I teased him as I hopped off the counter.

"Damn," he murmured. "Fine, fine."

I'd just started to take off my towel when I remembered Dimitri was still in the room. Blushing, I quickly wrapped it around me. "Stop staring at me like that."

"You could always continue," Dimitri said almost mischievously.

I turned him around so he was looking the other way. "You can just look the other way and start getting ready to shower."

He started taking off his shirt, exposing bronzed skin and muscles. I had to keep myself from staring, and turned around to put on my sleepwear.

I walked back outside, and sat on one of the beds, yawning. My schedule was pretty much screwed up from flying, and I'd be thrown off even more by the time change.

Dimitri came out a few minutes later, toweling off his wet hair. My attention was drawn to the fact how he was shirtless, and he was wearing only sweats.

My mind flashed back to when we were under the influence of the lust charm. We'd started kissing and he'd lifted up the hem of my dress-

I cut off those memories, trying to keep control. He came over to me after tossing the towel down. "So…"

I looked down at the floor, and blushed. "Do you want to sleep in separate beds? If you want to…"

Dimitri wrapped his arms around me in a hug. "Do you think I really want to sleep in a separate bed when you're in the room?"

I blushed for what had to be the second time in half an hour.

He led me over to one of the beds, and sat down. "Let's go to bed."

I came over to him, and lay down on the bed. He lay down next to me, and switched off the light. I snuggled closer to him, and he held me close against his chest. I shivered at his warmth.

"You're trembling," he murmured softly.

I turned to face him. Even in the dark, I could tell that his gaze was on me.

I did want us to give in to our desire for each other…especially when we were sleeping so close to each other, and in the same bed. Remember, it won't help matters if you give in before graduation, I told myself.

Still…it's not like we couldn't kiss and get close. I leaned up, and gave him a soft kiss.

He kissed me back, and rolled over so he was on top of me. I was underneath him on the bed.

He kissed me all over, and my skin began to tingle from his hard kisses. He softly bit into the side of my neck, and I gasped as his lips brushed over a sensitive spot. His fingers ran through my hair, still wet from my shower.

I kissed his throat, and then down to his shoulder. Our breathing grew faster, and our kisses became more passionate. He shivered as I ran my fingers down his chest and to his stomach.

He eased down my sweats and my tank top and took them off. I shivered, and pressed myself closer to him.

"Maybe…we should stop before it goes further," I whispered, even though I really didn't want to.

Dimitri laughed, and ran his fingers down my exposed skin, making me tingle all over. "Go further?" He kissed the skin between my breasts. "Here…or here?" He kissed downwards, stopping a little at the edge of my panties.

I moaned a little, trying to make him understand to not go any further. He looked at me, and then brushed his fingers along the front of my panties. I gasped when he gently brushed a very sensitive spot, and kissed him, our tongues playing against each other's.

We stopped kissing, and I shivered, rubbing my arms against the cold. Dimitri helped me put my tank top back on, and I wrapped myself a little closer to him and breathed in his scent. It smelled so good to me, and yet, if someone asked me how to describe it, I had no idea how to.

"Good night, Dimitri," I murmured, closing my eyes.

I could barely hear him whisper "Good night Roza" before I fell asleep.

* * *

Something soft pressed against my cheek when I opened my eyes the next morning. Turning a little on my side, Dimitri's lips met my own.

"Good morning," he greeted me.

"Morning, Comrade," I murmured, stretching and peering at the clock. "It's only nine in the morning."

"I'm guessing my sisters have gone to work already," Dimitri remarked as I sat up and rubbed my eyes.

"Already?"

Dimitri nodded, a slight smile crossing his face. "That means only my grandmother and my mother are home right now."

Ahh…we were almost alone. Who knew what types of things could happen…I blushed, remembering a few of the things we'd done last night.

"Is Rose Hathaway actually blushing?" Dimitri asked, raising his eyebrow at me.

Oops. He'd noticed. "Were you staring at my face?" I returned.

"Of course," he said easily, lightly tickling my sides and making me squeal.

"Stop, stop, it tickles!" I said, giggling uncontrollably when he started tickling my sides even more.

He finally stopped tickling and we just looked into each other's eyes. I felt my heart start beating faster just looking at him.

He scooted closer to me, and pressing his lips against my ear, whispered, "Do you want more naughty things like last night?"

I blushed scarlet. "Dimitri!"

"What? No one can hear me," he said, pulling a little away from me.

I said, "Well…we're in your home…"

He laughed softly. "Remember, most of my family is out."

I kept blushing but said, "Yes, I do want it."

Before the last word had left my mouth, he was fiercely kissing me and leaned over me so that I was pressed against the bed, like last night. His hands went to my back, and he'd lifted off my tank top and tossed it onto the ground.

I slipped out from under him, and now he was the one under me on the bed. I kissed his hip, and made my way up to his collarbone. He sighed with longing, and then captured my lips with his own.

"I love you," he whispered, taking my hand and kissing each of my fingers. He started sucking gently on my pointer finger, making me shiver at his touch.

"I love you too," I whispered back, giving him a quick peck on the lips.

We were pressing ourselves a little closer with every kiss. He now got on top of me, and kissed all the way down to my stomach. I just wanted to lose myself into the bliss of being with him, and his skin pressed against mine.

He kissed my neck and made his way down to my collarbone. I wanted so much more, considering we were making out on a bed…


	8. Chapter 8 Viktoria

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Vampire Academy.

Ch. 8 Viktoria

There was a soft knock on the door, but we didn't stop our kissing and making out. I let out a soft sigh as he traced my collarbone, and gave me a soft kiss. "Dimka? Are you up yet?"

Dimitri pulled away from my lips, which felt very swollen from his kisses. I pulled the blanket over myself, ready in case anyone came in. "Just got up, Mama," he called back.

I tried not to laugh at his lie. If Olena came in and saw us both half-naked in bed…that wasn't going to be a very good impression I would make.

"Alright, but hurry up! I made blini," she called as her footsteps padded away. I let out a sigh of relief, and threw the blanket off.

"What's blini?" I asked Dimitri as I got up and ruffled through my suitcase for something to wear. I pulled on a T-shirt and jeans before rushing to the bathroom to comb out my hair and brush my teeth.

"If you like pancakes, you'll like blini," Dimitri said, and I could hear him changing in the bedroom.

I turned back to my reflection and nearly shouted. There were several bruises covering the side of my neck, probably from when we were making out. I scowled at my reflection. Good going, Rose. I combed my hair out to the sides so it would completely cover the hickeys, and examined my reflection. There. Unless someone knew about them, they'd be unseen.

I came out and he went into the bathroom. When he finished about a minute later, I opened the door and we started walking down the hall and down the stairs.

The living room wasn't big, but it wasn't tiny either. In a rocking chair was an old lady with graying hair. She appeared to be knitting something but looked up at her approach.

Her eyes were like Dimitri's and Olena's…but the fierce expression in them reminded me of Dimitri when he had killed Natalie a few months ago to save me. I shivered a little uneasily at her harsh glare.

Dimitri said something to her in Russian, and the only word I could pick out was my name. Roza.

The old lady (she had to be his grandmother) replied rapidly in Russian, looking at me and giving me a look that screamed disapproval. I tried my best to be meek and not draw attention to myself.

Dimitri was talking more loudly in Russian. Shaking his head, he led me into the kitchen.

"Was that your grandmother?" I asked as I sat down at the square table in the middle of the tiny kitchen. I wondered how everyone ate.

"Yes," Dimitri sighed, looking over at his grandmother.

"Don't mind Yeva," Olena said as she set down a plate of blini in front of me, along with a glass of orange juice. "She's just in one of her moods."

"I don't even know what she said," I told Olena, eyeing the plate of blini. It looked like super-thin pancakes, with lots of maple syrup. Yum.

Olena put down another plate of blini in front of Dimitri and he started eating, so I followed his lead. Instead of taking my time, I just wolfed everything down.

"She...well, I guess you could say she thinks you're not worthy enough for him," Olena said reluctantly.

Yeva said something in Russian, and Olena's gentle expression turned hard. She retorted in rapid-fire Russian, and then turned around and went back to cooking.

I turned to Dimitri questioningly. He frowned, and said, "Mama said to Grandmother, 'Don't say that about Rose, it's very rude.'"

"What did she say about me?" I asked as I finished my last blini. I shouldn't have been full from just one plate, but I was.

Dimitri shook his head. "Don't worry, it's not…er…you know…what most people think about dhampir women living together, if you know what I mean."

I understood what he'd left unspoken. Blood whores.

Well, I guess it was a relief Yeva hadn't mentioned that about me.

Dhampir women often chose to not become guardians to raise their children. Because Moroi men often wanted to be with Moroi women, it left a lot of single dhampir mothers but we could handle it.

However, rumors surrounded these dhampir women who chose to raise families. They lived together in communities, and it was said that Moroi men visited a lot of times for sex. And another rumor was that dhampir women would let them drink blood while they had sex. It was a kinky, dirty thing, to let a Moroi drink from a dhampir. So that was where the term "blood whores" had come from.

Dimitri took my plate and glass. I stood up to help him but he shook his head. "You're a guest here, so I'll do the chores."

"Thanks Comrade," I teased, sitting back down again.

He washed the plates and glasses before putting them in the dishwasher. "Mama, when's the hospital open?"

"It's already open," Olena replied, washing her hands. "I went early this morning, but Viktoria hadn't woken up yet. Still, the doctors are very hopeful she'll wake up soon."

"I'm going to visit her. Rose, do you want to come?" I nodded, and stood again.

"We'll walk there. It's a nice day out today," Dimitri added, coming over to me and taking my hand.

* * *

Now that it was morning, plenty of people were strolling about on the streets. I smiled a little. Baia reminded me a little of European small towns I'd seen in travel books. It was charming, with that village feel.

Of course, all the signs on stores and buildings looked like they were in Cyrillic, but oh well.

"Baia is a beautiful place," I told Dimitri as we walked through a small park with grass and lots of trees. A small brook quietly bubbled on the far end of the park.

"It is," he agreed, closing his eyes briefly. "I've always missed coming back home. I don't think I've been here since I graduated."

I stared in surprise. "You haven't returned home since you graduated?'

He nodded as we strolled out of the park and into the rest of town. "To be honest, I'd sort of lost contact with my family when I came to the States and became Lissa's guardian. I got in contact with them again about a year ago."

"Wow…"

I couldn't imagine losing contact with people I cared so much about. To be fair though, I wasn't that close to my mother, the famous guardian Janine Hathaway. Recent events (although bad) had drawn us a little closer, although we weren't quite there yet.

We stopped in front of a tall imposing building, which I knew was the hospital.

Dimitri checked us in at the receptionist's desk, who directed us to the third floor. He told me, once we were in the elevator, that Viktoria had been in Intensive Care for a few days before. She'd only been moved out to Rehabilitation last night.

Dimitri clenched my hand tightly as we started walking down the corridors to Viktoria's room.

I gently stroked his hand. "It'll be alright," I gently soothed him.

"I hope so," he murmured as we entered Viktoria's room.

* * *

She was on the first bed to the left.

If I hadn't known she was in a coma, I would've thought she was peacefully sleeping. She was hooked up to a few tubes, and I could see an IV needle poked into her arm. Ugh. I _hated_ needles.

Her face was very gentle and angel-like as she slept. Even though her eyes were closed, I could tell that she was a very pretty girl. Her lightly tanned skin was a little paler than healthy. The long hair spread across her pillow was dark brown, with a few hints of gold catching the sunlight coming in through the windows.

A slight sob caught in Dimitri's throat when he saw his young sister lying there in a coma.

I was shocked at Dimitri releasing his emotions like that. It had only been recently that he'd been letting go and showing his emotions, and little by little…

"Viktoria!" he whispered, sitting down in the chair next to her bed and clasping her hand.

A nurse came in, with long black hair tucked into a bun. From the slight tingle I felt when I saw her, I knew she was a dhampir.

"Dimitri Belikov?"

Dimitri instantly got up but didn't release his sister's hand. "That's me."

The nurse nodded, looking down at her clipboard. "She's been in a coma for about three days now. The doctors said she should be waking up anytime now."

"What if she doesn't ever wake up?" Dimitri's voice was a pained whisper as he turned his gaze back to Viktoria.

The nurse shook her head. "Her vital signs are good, and just yesterday, she moved her hand. It was a slight movement, but it's a good sign of improvement. If she wakes up, press the button next to her bed."

"Thank you," Dimitri murmured, looking at Viktoria again.

The nurse stopped at the door, and turned around. "Talk to her. It could help her recover quickly." She quietly left afterwards.

I bit my lip, watching Dimitri's pained face as he looked at his sleeping sister. I quietly sat down on Dimitri's other side.

"Viktoria, it's me. It's Dimka," he said to her, probably knowing he wouldn't get a response. "I've come back from the States. And I hope you'll wake up soon, and recover quickly…I brought someone special with me I want you to meet when you wake up. Her name is Rose."

I stared at him in amazement. I'd just come to Baia last night with him, and now he was already talking about me to his sister who was in a coma…

He kept talking to her, switching back and forth between Russian and English. I gave up on attempting to follow the conversation and decided to lay back and relax.

Dimitri stood up some time later, and gently nudged me. "Come on, let's go."

I stood up, and we walked hand in hand out of the room.

* * *

Once we were outside, Dimitri said, "I want to get some flowers for her."

"Let's go to the flower shop downstairs," I suggested, steering him towards the elevator.

We got out on the ground floor, and Dimitri deliberated on what flowers to get her. He turned to me. "What flowers would represent happiness, or a quick recovery?"

I found it a little amusing he would ask me for help on the secret language of flowers. But I didn't know that much about flowers. I bit my lip. "Why not something yellow? Those are very bright and cheerful."

"I guess," Dimitri sighed. "Viktoria never really liked yellow a whole lot."

I tilted my head as I examined a pot of beautiful roses. "Get her some of her favorite flowers."

"She liked lilies, daisies, and tulips," Dimitri told me, looking around the flower shop like he was on an alien planet.

"Then tell the shopkeeper what you told me," I said, leading him over to the matronly old lady.

She nodded as he listed the flowers, and started bustling around the shop, picking out several flowers and arranging them quickly in a crystal vase. I stared in amazement. I'd never be able to do that in a hundred years if I tried.

Dimitri nodded in approval, and paid for them. We made our way back to the elevator with the flowers, and went to Viktoria's room.

Dimitri gently set the flowers on the table at the foot of Viktoria's bed. "These are your favorite flowers. Wake up soon, and see the beautiful colors and smell them."

We left after that, and started walking back across town to Dimitri's house.

* * *

**Author's note**: I probably won't be updating this on a daily basis anymore...school's starting up again this coming Monday, and I need to focus on my schoolwork and tests. But I promise I'll try to update on a weekly basis :)


	9. Chapter 9 An Unexpected Visitor

Disclaimer: I don't own Vampire Academy.

Ch. 9 An Unexpected Visitor

Three days passed quietly in Baia. I met Dimitri's older sisters, Sonya and Karolina. They seemed nice and happy to meet me. Karolina had a baby girl, and a son-Paul. He was about ten, and was fascinated by me. I was surprised at the striking resemblance between him and Dimitri.

Sonya was pregnant, and going to have a baby in a few months. Dimitri told me she worked at a drugstore in town, and didn't say much about who had fathered the child. I knew that could be a sensitive topic, so I didn't ask.

We visited Viktoria every day, going to the hospital even three times a day. I could tell Dimitri was slowly losing hope that his little sister would wake up. Sometimes he would just stare off into space, his eyes looking haunted and far away.

On the fourth evening of my stay, I walked down to the hospital with Dimitri, hand in hand. The sun was about to go down soon, and the way the sunlight washed over everything looked very warm and soft. Golden hour.

He looked very down as we were walking across Baia, and I could practically feel his depression and worry churning inside of him. I squeezed his hand and tried to give him a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, Dimitri. Viktoria will probably wake up any day now."

"But the doctors said that too, and she's barely stirred since we visited her," Dimitri whispered, looking so upset I just wanted to hug him and ease his pain.

"Hey, doctors aren't always very accurate," I shrugged, trying to be reassuring.

This brought a faint smile to Dimitri's face as we crossed through the park. "That's true-"

His words were cut off as a wave of nausea washed over me. I winced, clutching my stomach. "Ugh!"

"Roza, what's wrong?" Dimitri asked, quickly tightening his hand around my own.

I winced again as a second wave of nausea rolled through me. I felt like I had been punched in the stomach, or someone had smashed my head in really hard, all at the same time. Of all times to be nauseous… "Be alert, Dimitri."

His face took on that wary, guardian face he was so good at. His silver stake came out, glinting in the sunset.

He swore, and my nausea intensified.

"What's wrong?"

"We're not alone."

"What?" I asked, trying to fight through my nausea.

"Strigoi."

* * *

I wanted to say that was impossible, but Dimitri wouldn't joke about something like that. I mentally assessed myself to check if I had anything on me that could be used as a weapon. Damn. I had no stake.

As if he knew what I was thinking, Dimitri reached into his jacket pocket and handed me a stake. "Here."

I took it, and gripped it tightly, scanning the area.

Two Strigoi appeared seemingly out of nowhere, their red eyes practically gleaming in the dying light, but they were careful to stick to the shaded part of the park. I forced back my nausea, and ordered myself to focus on the Strigoi.

One was a woman, her tall height indicating she might have been a Moroi before her conversion.

The other was a man, and to my surprise, he looked like he might've been a human before he'd been changed. Rare, considering how Strigoi often gave into their bloodlust and fed off of them.

Dimitri and I instantly fell into the back-to-back position partners used when facing enemies on different sides.

Don't hesitate, I told myself. One of the many lessons that Dimitri had taught me during our training sessions together.

I lunged out at the woman, and she instantly sidestepped my swipe. I straightened up before she had a chance to attack me.

We warily sized each other up. Her red eyes were malicious and cold, without even the slightest hint of emotion in them.

She feinted to the side, and I mirrored her move. I lunged out with my stake again, and swiped the side of her face.

She snarled in pain, and kept her chest protected. Still, I could tell she was doing a so-so job of protecting it, and if I could get past that, I could stake her.

The woman lunged at me unexpectedly with lightning speed, and grabbed my hair. I cried out in pain when she was gripping my hair tightly. It felt like it was going to rip out.

Dimitri almost started turning towards me and turning his back on his target. "Stop, Dimitri!" I cried, trying to push the woman away from me. "Don't worry about me."

This was what we'd both feared when he'd told me that he loved me. If we were both in battle and one of us got caught by a Strigoi…we'd let our feelings for each other get in the way. Painful memories of Mason came back to me. He'd liked me, and then he'd let his feelings for me get in the way, and got killed.

I ordered the painful memories back into the corners of my mind, and started fighting the woman. I painfully jerked most of my hair out of her hold, and swiped my stake across her arm although she was holding my hair tightly with one, and holding my free arm with her other. A tactical mistake, but I wasn't complaining. She should've been holding both of my arms so I wouldn't have room to maneuver with the stake.

She shrieked in pain, and her hold on my hair slackened. I pulled my hair out of her grip and faced her. I needed to end this fight soon, and help Dimitri.

I feinted to the side like she had earlier, and the woman fell for it. I lunged in with my stake at lightning speed and ran my stake up her ribs and through into her heart.

The woman faltered, but the way she was twisting made it hard for me to directly push it through. I grimaced as she kept wriggling and undoing my progress with the stake. I pushed the stake through with all my strength, and the woman stopped moving. She fell, and I bent down to get back the stake.

I turned back around to Dimitri. He was still fighting the man, and the man put up a good fight for a Strigoi who was once human. Several cuts covered the man's face, no doubt from Dimitri's stake.

The man reached out, and before I knew what he was doing, he had Dimitri in a chokehold.

I gasped. "NO!"

Dimitri was still making a valiant struggle against his captor, but he clearly couldn't keep going much longer. The Strigoi had him in a tight grip around his neck, slowly cutting off his oxygen.

I was horrified, but felt rooted in place. I ordered my legs to start running towards them. Oh, Dimitri! Don't die, please don't die…

When I thought all was lost, Dimitri's eyes snapped open and he resumed his struggle against the Strigoi. I stared in surprise. Had he been pretending?

Dimitri lashed out at the man with his stake, and the man flailed, losing his grip on Dimitri. I desperately wanted to lunge in and help Dimitri, but I was afraid that he would lose concentration that way if I suddenly came in. I had to help him somehow though.

I don't want to lose you, I thought as I closed in on the man from the other side.

Dimitri advanced on the man, graceful and deadly at the same time. His face was perfectly focused on the Strigoi man.

The Strigoi stayed away from Dimitri, clearly wary of him. He probably hadn't expected Dimitri to be able to free himself from his chokehold. I wasn't sure if he knew I was behind him, but I had to be stealthy.

I lunged in, and plunged my stake into his shoulder. He snarled, and backhanded me so I landed several feet away. I fell, knocking my cheek against the pavement of the sidewalk. I quickly got to my feet. The stake!

The Strigoi had quickly gotten out the stake I'd plunged. It lay to one side, and I gulped as he advanced on me. He looked downright pissed.

I slowly started backing away, towards the very last bit of sunlight streaming through the trees.

Dimitri jumped in front of me, as if from nowhere. He lunged too quickly at the Strigoi and plunged his stake into the Strigoi's heart.

The man screamed, flailing in pain. Dimitri pushed the stake in further, and the man fell to the ground.

Dimitri pulled out the stake, and struggled to pull up the body. "Come on, Rose, let's get the bodies into the sunlight."

Sunlight would definitely incinerate the bodies so no one would notice. We had to get rid of the evidence of vampires. People would start asking questions if they saw two unnaturally pale bodies. I dragged the woman's body over into the dying rays of the sun just as Dimitri stepped away from the man's body.

"Let's go," Dimitri said, taking my hand in his and squeezing it. "Are you hurt?"

I lightly touched the side of my cheek. It was bleeding a little, from when the Strigoi had backhanded me. "Not that badly."

"Not that badly?" he exclaimed as he handed me back the stake he'd given me earlier. I concealed it in my jean pockets, and pulled my jacket over it to cover it. "We're getting you looked at."

"I've had worse, Comrade," I remarked as we resumed walking to the hospital. This time, we were more cautious and tried to stay where there were more pedestrians and streetlights.

Dimitri shook his head as the hospital came into view. "Nope, no arguing. We're getting you to a doctor."

"I thought you would've had an emergency kit on you at all times," I teased as we entered the lobby.

The receptionist looked absolutely aghast at my wound. Was it really that bad? I wondered as she rushed me into an office with a doctor.

The doctor mostly talked to Dimitri in Russian. I was curious to what Dimitri's excuse for my cheek wound would be. After all, humans couldn't know that there was a secret vampire world…

The man turned to me and put something on my cheek that stung pretty badly. I winced. "Ouch!"

The doctor then put a small gauze bandage over my cheek and then sent me on my way. "What did you even tell him?" I asked Dimitri as we walked across the lobby and headed for the elevators.

Dimitri smiled briefly. "That you tripped and fell on the sidewalk."

I rolled my eyes. "Typical. You would pick the excuse where I'm very accident-prone."

We arrived on the third floor and walked into Viktoria's room, like always.

Dimitri took the seat next to her bed and took her hand, which was now bandaged like her forehead. She still looked like she was peacefully sleeping, although she'd been in a coma for close to a week…or was it a week? My sense of how much time had passed was a bit messed up.

Eventually, I found out through the bond that the story at school was that I was visiting my mom, the famous guardian Janine Hathaway, at her charge's home. Only Adrian knew the real story of where I was.

He'd visited my dreams a few times - yes, one of his spirit abilities involved being able to walk dreams – and we'd talked a little. He never asked what I was doing, and I didn't offer details. I was pretty sure he was already upset enough about me being far away in Russia without me adding to it.

My thoughts were interrupted when Dimitri gasped. "Viktoria?"

I suddenly shot to my feet, prepared for the monitors to immediately start beeping. There wasn't a sound inside the room.

I looked at Dimitri's sister lying on the bed. She started shifting a little on the bed, and her eyes fluttered open.

* * *

"Dimka?" she asked in a slightly raspy voice.

Her eyes were the same dark brown as Dimitri's. Everyone in the Belikov family shared those dark eyes.

"Viktoria!" Dimitri breathed, clasping her hand.

"What's going on? Where am I?" she asked, weakly struggling to rise from her hospital bed.

"Do you remember me?" Dimitri asked in a soft voice.

Viktoria replied in Russian, and they began conversing in rapid Russian. I picked out a few words here and there. St. Vladimir's. Montana.

Dimitri turned to me after a few minutes. "Viktoria, this is Rose. And Rose…well you know, this is my little sister Viktoria."

"Hello," I said, feeling a little awkward and not knowing what to do.

"Hi, Rose," Viktoria said, reaching a hand out to me. She pulled me into a hug and released me. "Dimka's told me all about you."

I shot a dangerous glare at Dimitri, and Viktoria laughed. "No, it was all good, I promise."

The dhampir nurse who'd been here earlier walked in. "Well, it looks like Viktoria's finally awakened!"

"What happened to me?" Viktoria asked, looking around in confusion. "I don't remember anything before waking up."

The nurse and Dimitri exchanged a look. "Well…you were in a car accident. The impact of the crash left you with very few minor external injuries. More of the damage came to your head."

Viktoria lightly touched her head, and found the bandage covering her forehead. "Now I remember a little. But it's all blurred."

"Well, that's something," the nurse murmured, scribbling something down on her clipboard. Did she always carry it around with her?

The doctors were called in. They debated over what to do with Viktoria, before deciding that she would stay at the hospital one more night to have check-ups done on her.

Viktoria wasn't too thrilled about having to stay in the hospital a night longer. "Why do I have to stay one more night?" she nearly yelled once the doctors and the nurse had left. "I'm perfectly fine! Even the doctors said there shouldn't be anything wrong with me."

"Just because they say so doesn't mean you can just leave the hospital," Dimitri retorted. I had to hide a smile. He was being protective of his little sister. "Besides, it's only one night. Not a whole twenty four hours."

Viktoria scowled, crossing her arms over her chest, but faked a pout. "Fine! If I'm going to stay here one more night, I want to sleep." She turned over in her bed, her back to us.

"Good night, Viktoria," I called out to her as we left her room.

* * *

Dimitri was definitely so much happier once we started walking back to his house. He was practically cheerfully whistling, that's how happy he was.

I smiled up at him as we walked down the street near his house. "Happy?"

"You can't believe how relieved I feel," he breathed softly in my ear. He smiled at me, and then kissed my lips very passionately.

I wrapped my arms around him to keep from falling over. There was nothing else in the world as he kissed me except for the two of us. I was dimly aware of other people walking on the sidewalk, but I didn't want to stop.

He stopped kissing me, and I pouted. "Did you really have to stop?"

"Fine, just one more." He leaned down to me, and planted another kiss on my lips. This time, it was softer and more lingering. He pulled away, and tugged at my hand. "Come on, let's go."

We continued walking and finally his house was in view. We walked in through the front door.

Olena greeted us, but she looked a bit uneasy and awkward, which peaked my interest. What was going on?

"Dimitri…you have a…visitor," she said to him, looking over her shoulder uneasily and then back at me.

I was instantly suspicious. Why was Olena looking at me like that?

Dimitri raised his eyebrows, clearly on alert as well. "Who is it?"

A woman practically flew at him from the living room to kiss him on the cheek. "Dimka!"

I bristled as she hugged him. Dimitri seemed extremely reluctant to hug her, and hastily let go as soon as possible.

When she finally let go of him, the light fell on her features. Jet-black, glossy hair. Large wintry, pale blue eyes. Purple, raised scars across her left cheek that somehow didn't distract from her stunning beauty.

I now recognized her, and I had to fight from curling my hands into fists and yelling.

Tasha Ozera.


	10. Chapter 10 Complications

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Vampire Academy.

* * *

Ch. 10 Complications

Not so long ago, Tasha had admitted to Dimitri she had feelings for him, and she'd requested him as her guardian. He'd almost taken the offer, but then turned her down when he realized his heart was truly with me.

Of course, I didn't know if Tasha had gotten over Dimitri. I was pretty sure that she didn't know we were in love with each other, and that she wouldn't be too thrilled she'd lost Dimitri to a dhampir girl seven years his junior. I briefly wondered if Tasha would want revenge, but pushed it out of my head.

"Hello, Tasha," Dimitri said, his voice stiff and formal. I could feel him tensing up beside me even as he spoke. Clearly, he wasn't any more thrilled than me that she'd somehow showed up in Baia. "Why are you here?"

"I was visiting family in Russia," Tasha said cheerily, seemingly oblivious to his formality. "So I decided to pass by and stay for a few days in Baia! I didn't know you'd be here though."

"How nice," Dimitri said. Only his hand tightening on my own revealed to me how upset he was.

Tasha turned and seemed to notice me for the first time. Her pale blue eyes widened when she saw me with Dimitri. "Rose? What are you doing here?"

I really wanted to say quite a few things to her, none of which were polite. But I definitely couldn't tell her why I'd come with Dimitri to Russia-so I could spend time with him, away from the Academy.

"Visiting Dimitri's family," I said, pasting on a polite smile.

Tasha looked confused. "But…shouldn't you be in school?"

Dimitri sighed. "Well, she got special leave once I convinced Guardian Alberta that this would be a field experience of sorts." I was surprised at his lie but rolled along with it.

"She did say I'd probably experience more Strigoi out here, and it'd be good experience," I lied.

Tasha raised an eyebrow. "I see." She turned to Olena with a smile. "Do you have somewhere I can stay? Maybe the guest room next to Dimitri's room?"

Olena's smile seemed to turn stiff. "Dimitri's room is now Viktoria's room. And Rose and Dimitri are sharing the guest room, so I'm not quite sure where you would stay…"

At Olena's words, Tasha turned around to stare directly at me and Dimitri. Her gaze dropped to our entwined hands, and her mouth was an O of surprise. I instinctively moved to drop my hand from Dimitri's, but his grip was tight and he wouldn't let go.

"You're with…Rose?" Tasha asked, stunned. She sounded like she'd been punched, and that tone she used…her heart was breaking.

"Yes, I'm with Rose," Dimitri told her, his voice strong and steady. "I love her, and I will always love her."

I was stunned at him declaring his feelings for me so publicly-and with Tasha still in the room. At the same time, it warmed me from the inside. He wouldn't have been able to do this while we were still at the Academy.

She slowly started putting two and two together, if the widening of her eyes was any indication. But she didn't dare say anything in front of Olena.

"Congratulations, Dimitri!" Tasha said, trying desperately hard to act happy for us and smile. All of us gathered in the room could tell she was lying. She wasn't happy Dimitri had chosen me over her.

Yeva shuffled out of the kitchen, and her dark eyes immediately assessed what was going on. I uneasily shifted from one foot to another.

To my surprise, she turned to Tasha and spoke in perfect English. "Welcome back, Tasha. It's been many years."

"You speak English?" I exclaimed. In the few days I'd spent at Dimitri's house, I had never heard her speak a single word of English. Karolina, Sonya, and even Paul spoke to her in Russian.

She looked over at me. Although her face was clear of emotion, like any well-trained guardian, I got the feeling she was extremely amused. "Of course. It's just irritating to speak English sometimes."

Dimitri shook his head in resignation, but made no comment.

Tasha smiled and told Yeva about life in the States, and what she'd been doing in the years they hadn't seen each other.

Dimitri said to Olena, "I'm going upstairs."

Olena nodded, and added in a low voice so only me and Dimitri could hear, "Hurry, before she starts going on about sleeping next door, Dimka." She then moved out of the hallway and into the kitchen.

* * *

Dimitri nearly dragged me up the stairs and down the hallway. We ended back in the guest room, and he locked the door behind him.

"What is Tasha doing here?" I whispered into his ear as we sat down on the bed, and he wrapped his arms around me.

Dimitri shook his head. "I had no more warning than you did, Rose. I don't understand why she's here. Although we have known each other for many years, this is very strange."

"Maybe she wants to have a chance at getting you to fall in love with her again," I said bitterly, staring out at the window. After all, it was no secret about Tasha's feelings…

Dimitri moved away to take my hands in his, and looked me straight in the eye. "I promise that I do not return her feelings in any way. I can never love her the way I love you, Roza."

My breath caught in my throat just looking at him. He was looking at me so earnestly and lovingly that I knew he was telling the truth. "You…never loved her?"

"As a friend, yes," Dimitri said, letting go of my hand and averting his eyes.

I narrowed my eyes at him. I suspected he wasn't telling me the whole truth. "Dimitri, tell me. Are you hiding something from me?"

Dimitri hesitated, touching his promise ring. "I…nothing."

I stood up, and glared at him. "Tell. Me. Now," I spat out.

Dimitri closed his eyes and opened them again. "I met Tasha because of a friend of a friend. Although she's a few years older than me, we still attended the same school. Even back then, I heard that she had feelings for me. I ignored those rumors to focus on my training."

I was devastated. My whole world felt like it had been shattered into a million little pieces and stepped on. I just wanted to curl up into a ball of misery and cry my eyes out, but I couldn't. He'd known her for all those years, and known about the feelings that she had held for him. Why had he never told me? I wouldn't have been happy, but it would've been better if I'd known sooner. I wouldn't have felt betrayed, like he'd been hiding something from me.

Damn Tasha. Why did she get to have the advantage of knowing him so much longer than me?

"Why did you never tell me?" I asked, not looking at Dimitri. I had to work hard to keep my face impassive and stony. If I revealed even a little bit of emotion…

His face was sad as he spoke. "I started to harbor feelings for her, but never showed it. She'd left school a few years before I graduated. Eventually, she came back my graduation night. She confessed her feelings for me, and…we kissed. But that was all, I swear. We were never a couple, not even in secret."

"Why not? You both liked each other," I said dully, pulling my knees up to my chest. I turned my head away when Dimitri tried to look at me.

Dimitri's voice was filled with pain. "Well, dhampir-Moroi relationships are frowned upon, although not nearly as much as dhampir relationships. And although I liked her, I didn't like her as much as she did. Eventually we decided it was best for us not to pursue a relationship, at least for the moment. But then you know…eventually she asked me to become her guardian. And you know perfectly well why I turned her down."

Silence hung in the room. I finally looked him in the eye. I knew he was telling the truth, finally revealing his past with Tasha.

"Please believe me, Roza," Dimitri whispered, looking at me. "I would never do anything to hurt you. The only reason I didn't tell you was because there truly was nothing between me and Tasha that happened. I'm so sorry."

I looked him levelly in the eye. "I forgive you. But please don't ever do that again. If there's something, you must tell me. We're in this together, Dimitri."

"I know," he breathed, planting a soft kiss on my forehead. I felt warm all over just from that little kiss.

"Still, this adds complications," I murmured, leaning my head against him. He put his arm around me.

"I know it's going to add complications," he agreed, his voice flat. "She claims to be visiting family. But I know her too well. She rarely does anything like this without an ulterior motive. She's going to try to get me to fall in love with her like she loves me."

I blanched. I couldn't help it. "She has the nerve to come to your family and try to make you fall in love with her all over again?"

"My family knows that her feelings aren't reciprocated," Dimitri said. "I think even Grandmother thinks Tasha is going too far."

"She did?"

Dimitri nodded. "Grandmother isn't very friendly to people she likes or respects. She's a bit too friendly to people she doesn't like."

I frowned. What a weird way to treat someone.

He got up from the bed and held out his hand to me. "Come on. We have to return downstairs. It's almost dinner."

I reluctantly took his hand and we walked out of the room and down the stairs together.

* * *

That night, it was very awkward around the dinner table. Although we still spoke and held conversations, I could feel the tension in the air. Clearly, Dimitri and I weren't the only ones who didn't like Tasha being in the Belikov household.

Dimitri told his family that Viktoria would return home tomorrow, and they all looked very happy.

"What happened to Viktoria?" Tasha asked as she popped some beef stroganov in her mouth. For the record, I wasn't too thrilled with the food in Russia so far, but oh well. A girl had to eat after all.

Dimitri exchanged looks with his mother. Olena then spoke. "She was hurt in a car accident, and was asleep in a coma until this evening."

"Is she alright?" Tasha asked. I didn't feel that she was truly concerned about Viktoria, and that she was asking out of politeness.

"Yeah, she's coming back tomorrow," Dimitri answered, finishing his dinner and standing up to put it in the sink.

"Where should I sleep tonight?" Tasha asked. Virtually everyone froze at the table, even me.

Karolina frowned at Tasha. "I thought you had plans to stay somewhere else."

Tasha widened her eyes in a faux innocent way. "You thought that? I don't have anywhere else to stay though…"

Olena sighed. "Well…I suppose you could sleep in Viktoria's room for one night, since she's not coming back till tomorrow."

"Wait, why can't I share the guest room with Dimitri?" Tasha asked. I really wanted to slap her across the face. Had she really forgotten that I was here?

Olena opened her mouth to respond but I jumped right in. "Because I'm sharing the guest room with him!"

Tasha's mouth almost fell open before she recovered and tried to smile. "Oh. Of course."

But then, she said, "If so, then why don't you just go into one bed, and I'll share a bed with Dimitri?"

I glared at her. Anger and outrage poured through me. How dare she try to take Dimitri away from me? "There isn't enough room for two people to sleep in one bed!" Which obliviously wasn't true since Dimitri and I were sharing a bed…

Olena looked like she was trying to think. "I suppose you can take Viktoria's room for a night. She's not coming back till tomorrow."

"Alright, thanks!" Tasha said brightly before she returned to her food.

Dimitri shot me a look from the sink as he organized the dishes. I could almost tell what he was thinking. If Tasha was sleeping in Viktoria's room…and Viktoria's room was practically next to the guest room…things weren't going to go so well for me and Dimitri maybe. I hoped it wouldn't be true though.

* * *

After dinner, we spent some time with the family in the living room. It was very crowded, with the addition of Tasha. If Tasha was still here when Viktoria returned tomorrow, it was going to get even more crowded.

Paul was trying to get me to play his toy trains with him. I kept refusing but he kept begging me, and finally I gave in.

"Aunty Roza, this is fun!" he said, laughing after I finished.

I froze in place and I couldn't help from looking at Tasha out of the corner of my eye. She'd been chatting with Dimitri, and now she looked absolutely stunned. Luckily, she hadn't been flirting with him openly…

Dimitri smiled at me though, and I could see the love for me in his eyes.

Paul smiled up at me. "Yes! Aunty Rose."

"Ahh…alright then, now you're my nephew and you need to do as I say," I teased him.

Paul pouted. "But I don't like being told what to do!"

I laughed and looked around the room. The Belikov home was full of laughter and happiness. My own family was fractured. My mom was a dedicated guardian, and she worked for the Szelskys. I had never met my father, and had no idea of who the hell he was.

Dimitri yawned, and stretched. "Roza, let's go upstairs. I'm really tired right now."

I sighed and stood up, ruffling Paul's hair. "Time for me to go to sleep, so good night Paul."

"Good night, Aunty!"

* * *

Hand in hand, Dimitri and I walked up the stairs to the guest room.

"Are we going to share a bed tonight?" I asked Dimitri after I'd taken a shower and changed into comfortable PJ's.

Dimitri yawned, stretching and rubbing his eyes. "I want us to. After everything that happened today…"

I shivered, thinking of our fight with the Strigoi. We had decided not to tell anyone for fear of worrying them. I hadn't gotten that weird nauseous feeling since the fight, so it probably meant there weren't any Strigoi around.

I got into one bed, and he settled himself next to me. He wrapped his arms around me, and held me to his side.

I felt very content, just being in his arms. We didn't even have to kiss or do anything naughty. I felt a sense of oneness with him, like he was my other half. My soulmate, my true love.

"I really do want to sleep though," I confessed, yawning. Usually at night, we wouldn't just immediately go to sleep. However, today had been a very long day, and I wanted to sleep.

"We'll just sleep, then," Dimitri whispered, giving me a quick kiss. He leaned over to turn off the lights, and pulled the covers over us. I nestled my face against his chest and closed my eyes. I could barely hear him whisper, "I love you, Roza."

"I love you too, Dimitri," I whispered, before falling asleep.

* * *

How is it? Trying to think of a plot now Tasha has showed up at the Belikov household and is trying to break up Rose and Dimitri so she can have him all to herself...enjoy :D


	11. Chapter 11 Late Night Conflicts

**Disclaimer: ** I do not own Vampire Academy.

* * *

Ch. 11 Late Night Conflicts and Surprises

Sometime in the middle of the night, I woke up. I was a bit disoriented, but I glanced at the alarm clock sitting on the nightstand. 2:13 AM.

I shifted over, and peeked over at my side. Dimitri was still asleep, his chest gently rising and falling. I had to hide a smile when I saw him, and leaned over to gently press a kiss to his forehead.

The door creaked open slowly. I sat up immediately, my senses on high alert.

It was Tasha. She wasn't wearing anything expect a tank top and her underwear. My blood ran cold at the sight of her. Had she been hoping to try to get into Dimitri's bed?

"What the hell are you doing here in my room?" I hissed, clenching my fists.

Tasha slowly came into the room, her blue eyes fixed on me. She looked shocked when she saw that I was sleeping in the same bed as Dimitri, but her expression turned cold. "I want you to get out of his bed," she snarled. Her face wasn't so pretty now as she snarled at me, and she shut the door.

I widened my eyes at her, pretending to be completely blasé. "And why the hell would I get out of here?"

"Dimitri is mine, you little bitch!" she hissed, still keeping her voice low enough so we wouldn't wake Dimitri. "If it weren't for you, he would be my guardian. He would be my boyfriend right now!"

"First of all, Dimitri already rejected you so no need to get into that drama. Secondly, he's Lissa's guardian, and always has been. And…he's MY boyfriend, so get the fuck out of here, you whore!" I yelled, leaping out of bed.

On my last word, Dimitri shot up from the bed. "What's going on?"

I pointed at Tasha, my finger shaking. "Your bitch friend snuck into our room!"

Dimitri rubbed the sleep from his eyes before he got a clear picture of his surroundings. "Tasha! It's the middle of the night! Go back to bed now."

"Not until you come with me," she said, her voice turning honey sweet when she saw he was awake. "Dimka, come with me. Forget her. We can live together-"

"HE'S MY BOYFRIEND, YOU SKANK!" I yelled at her. If none of the Belikovs woke up through this yelling fest, it would be a miracle.

"That was after you stole him from me!" she shrieked. Without any warning, she lunged for me.

My guardian reflexes kicked in, and I leapt out of the way but punched her in the eye. She would have the beauty of a black eye in the morning.

"Stop!" Dimitri shouted, but it was no use. Tasha had gone too far in her attempts to be with Dimitri. It was time for some payback.

"He was never yours to begin with," I hissed at her as I dodged a kick meant for my leg. I punched her stomach, leaving her breathless.

She doubled over in pain, clutching her stomach. "He was always mine, you ho." When she looked up, her eyes took on intense focus and a huge flame suddenly danced in the air. She was using her fire magic against me! I realized.

The flame flew at my face, but I dropped on all fours to the ground, and the flame was snuffed out. "Dirty tricks," I taunted her. "You're just hiding behind your magic to deal with a guardian-in-training." I leapt on her and started punching her all over, in every place I could reach. I hoped I left lots of bruises on her tomorrow.

Here, Tasha decided to change tactics. She pushed herself up from the floor, and turned to Dimitri so their eyes were locked.

"Dimka," she purred, sashaying over to him. She reached out and stroked the side of his face with her fingers before climbing into the bed. Dimitri watched her, enthralled.

"LEAVE HIM ALONE!"

Tasha whipped her head around and stared directly at me. "Don't move or make a sound!"

My head felt very empty and light…Her request seemed very reasonable…I should just stand here and not talk, I thought dreamily. But I suddenly realized that she had just used compulsion on me! I tried to force my legs to move, but I was paralyzed by her compulsion. That bitch is getting it coming to her, I thought furiously.

"Tell me you love me," she purred, looking him in the eyes. Dimitri's eyes instantly became unfocused, and a dreamy look came over his face. "I know you love me. Just tell me you-"

"STOP IT!" I cried, breaking out of part of the compulsion. "Dimitri, she's using compulsion on you!"

"Silence!" Tasha snapped, locking me with her eyes and I was unable to talk.

What am I supposed to do? I thought with anguish. I can't move or talk! Her compulsion's not as strong as Lissa's, but it's still strong!

Dimitri still looked mesmerized by her compulsion as she reached out to him with her hands and started stroking his neck. "Tell me, Dimka. Do you love me?"

To my surprise, Dimitri's eyes instantly cleared when his eyes fell on me, and he looked horrified when he saw me. He slapped her hand away in disgust.

"I don't love you, Tasha," he snapped, getting out of the bed so he was standing next to me. Tasha looked like she'd been slapped.

"Stay the hell away from me," he continued, linking his hands with my own. The compulsion that had prevented me from moving or speaking was gone. When I snuck a look at him, he was glaring at her in a way I'd never seen before. "I'm not interested in you at all. _Rose_ is my girlfriend. And you disgust me even more! Attacking Rose and using compulsion on me. Leave me alone."

"But Dimka, I love-"

"Get. OUT!"

Tasha burst into tears and rushed out of the room. Dimitri flew to the door, and shut it, turning the bolts as he did so.

I pulled my knees up to my chest, wrapping my arms around myself. "W-why did she use compulsion on you?"

Dimitri's voice was filled with revulsion when he spoke. "She is so desperate to have me by her side she will use any measures possible. She attacked you, and used compulsion on me. Unforgiveable."

I sighed. "With all the compulsion Lissa and Adrian use…sometimes I forget that compulsion is still something forbidden to most Moroi."

Dimitri stroked my hair. "I wouldn't have ever done anything that would hurt you, Roza."

I twisted around so that I was looking at him. "It wasn't your fault. Tasha wields pretty strong compulsion for someone who isn't a spirit user."

Dimitri sighed, and gently gave my cheek a quick peck. "I know. But it doesn't make me feel any better. She was nearly close to getting me to say I love her when I don't."

I shook my head. "She's a terrible person."

He laughed, but it was strained and tight. "I actually agree. I never thought my oldest friend would go to such lengths."

"Normal people wouldn't be so desperate," I murmured, yawning.

"Sleep, Roza," Dimitri murmured, tightening his arms around me and pulling me into bed. "I promise I won't ever let that happen again. Sweet dreams, baby."

"Good night, Dimitri," I murmured. The last thing I saw before I closed my eyes was Dimitri's promise ring, glinting on his finger in the faint light from the lamp.

* * *

When I woke up again, it was around 9 AM. I lazily stretched, and instantly found myself being slightly smothered by a kiss.

Dimitri kissed me very sweetly and tenderly at first, but then the kiss built up into something hungrier and more passionate.

I giggled midway through the kiss, pulling away from him a little. "I didn't know you were a morning person."

"I'm not," Dimitri whispered huskily in my ear, running his fingers along the side of my neck and to my chest. His touch just made me want to get hot and heavy with him, but I fought back those emotions. Control, control, I chanted over and over in my head.

I tried raising an eyebrow at him. "Really? Then why do you make me wake up so early for training?"

Dimitri laughed softly. "So I can see you a little earlier. And you'll have more time for practice."

"And you just said you're not a morning person," I accused, playfully smacking him.

"Now I am, since I get to wake up with you by my side every morning," Dimitri said, kissing my lips and the side of my neck. His hand stroked my back.

Suddenly something occurred to me. "Dimitri, how long are we staying in Baia?"

Dimitri released me, and I got out of bed, stretching. "Three more days. I'm assuming that's the same date for your return ticket."

My return ticket! I dove for my small luggage bag and threw out all my things on the floor. After five minutes of looking through my clothes, I found my ticket and checked the date. "Yep, three days. But I really don't want to return to the Academy."

"I wonder if our seats are next to each other," Dimitri said somewhat flippantly as he pulled off his sweatshirt and put on a white shirt.

He ignored my comment, although he had to know what I meant by that. Sure, I missed my friends back at the Academy and I couldn't wait to see them again. But once we got back, it was back to staying away from each other. It would be made even harder considering how we'd come so close to giving in to temptation several times already.

"Hey, Adrian might've heard enough of your conversation," I said, turning my back on Dimitri to change.

We finished getting ready to go downstairs, and headed down for breakfast.

* * *

Breakfast was way more awkward than dinner. Especially since my little fight with Tasha that had led to her black eye. I was very proud of myself for finally getting some revenge.

The other Belikovs didn't know what had happened, but they felt the tension in the air. Sonya and Karolina eyed Tasha, and whispered to each other in Russian. I suspected they were talking trash about Tasha from the dirty glances they were giving her.

Tasha was remarkably silent at the table. One of her eyes was surrounded by a huge bruise, and her eyes looked rather swollen. From crying, I guessed, although it was hard to believe that someone like her could cry. She ate her breakfast at the table as fast as she could, and left the house ten minutes later.

"Dimka, what happened last night?" Karolina demanded once she heard the door slam behind Tasha. "She's been acting weird, and you've been glaring at her for the whole morning."

Dimitri sighed, and exchanged a look with me. I nodded.

He turned to his family, and said, "She came into the guest room last night and attacked Rose, used compulsion on me to try to force me to say I loved her."

Gasps of shock and outrage came from nearly everyone in the family. Even Yeva looked appalled.

"Tasha used compulsion? I thought her compulsion wasn't that strong," she said.

"Apparently it's gotten stronger," Dimitri said bitterly, staring off into space. "The last time I saw her use compulsion, she could barely get someone to give her their keys."

Sonya choked on her laughter. "That was hilarious. He was staring at her like she was an alien from Mars."

I put my glass to my lips and finished off my orange juice. "Dimitri, when do we go to pick Viktoria up?"

"Later this afternoon," he said. "We'll probably take a taxi there."

I nodded. "Okay then."

"In the meantime, we could go on a walk around Baia," he added mischievously.

"No, it's okay," I said, laughing. "I've had enough walking for a bit."

"We'll just stay home until we need to go get Viktoria," Dimitri said, leaning back in his chair.

Olena stood up, looking distracted. "I need to get some groceries later on today, but I'm going to be visiting Oksana and Mark later."

"I'll get them later," I said, standing up. "Unless you want me to go right now?"

Olena patted my cheek. "That's not necessary. Just go after lunch, as long as you get it before I come home."

"Alright," I said. She handed me a grocery list, which was written in English luckily. I could've always gotten Dimitri to translate for me but still.

Olena smiled. "You're very kind-hearted, Rose. I can see why Dimitri loves you." She picked up her purse and called her good-byes before she left.

I was struck by her words. Oftentimes, I saw myself as a trigger-happy queen bitch. Me, kind-hearted? An unusual word to describe me, at least in my own opinion.

* * *

Soon, Dimitri and I were the only ones left in the house. Everyone else was going out to do tasks, and his sisters had to work. Dimitri gave me some chores to do outside. I frowned at him. "Why are you giving me chores to do? You said I was your guest here!"

Dimitri gave me his best innocent look. "Did I really? I changed my mind. Go outside and do some chores."

I waved the list under his nose. "Hello? Sweep the backyard? Weed the garden? I don't know how to do those things!"

"It's not that hard, I promise," Dimitri said, trying to push me out the door.

"Are you trying to hide something from me?" I asked playfully, trying to raise an eyebrow at him and refusing to budge.

"Nothing sinister," he said vaguely, and then pushed me out. "Now, shoo! You have lots to do."

I groaned as he shut the door behind me, and turned to my list of tasks.

Later, Dimitri served me some leftovers from last night's dinner.

"Why are we completely alone?" I asked Dimitri as I helped him clean up the dishes.

A mischievous glint came into his eyes. "You'll see later."

I pouted. "Why not now?"

Dimitri rolled his eyes. "Fine, fine. And the others won't be gone forever anyway."

"Well what is it?" I asked as I followed him out of the kitchen.

He winked at me. "It's a surprise."

"I hope it's a very good surprise," I murmured, more to myself than to him.

He led me upstairs and into the guest room. I gasped when he opened the door.

* * *

Haha Tasha was way shocked when she saw Rose and Dimitri sharing the bed... Probably won't update until the weekend because of school, but I had some time today so I decided to update. Reviews and ideas greatly appreciated :D


	12. Chapter 12 Of Roses and Candlelight

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Vampire Academy.

* * *

Ch. 12 Of Roses and Candlelight

The guest room looked like it had been magically transformed from just a place to sleep in to…well, a place I could be completely alone with Dimitri. I was absolutely shocked as I took it all in. How had he been able to transform the guest room so fast? I wondered.

There was only one bed in the center of the room, and I idly wondered what had happened to the second bed. A gauzy curtain hung around it, slightly obscuring it from view. Rose petals were strewn all over the bedcovers, and on the floor. The sweet smell of roses and jasmine filled the air although I didn't actually see any flowers in the room. Several candles were placed around the room, filling the room with a soft gentle glow. The curtains had been mostly pulled shut, although I could see a bit of light coming through.

"Do you like it?" Dimitri asked me almost shyly.

I smiled at him, and hugged him. I was a bit surprised that he worried I wouldn't like it. "Of course I love it!"

His smile returned, and he planted a soft kiss on me. "I know we promised not until after graduation…"

"Did you change your mind?" I asked, not daring to believe it. He was the master of self-control, after all…

He laughed, and led me into the room. He'd laughed more in the few days I'd spent with him in Baia than in the few months since I'd met him. "You don't know how much I wish I could, Roza."

"Damn you," I murmured, half smiling. "How did you have time to decorate the room, Comrade?"

He said, "I decorated it while you were out in the garden."

"So that's why you gave me a huge list of chores," I mused, looking around the room. "Couldn't you have found a better way of getting me out of the house?"

"Nope," Dimitri said almost cheerily. "And Mama just made up that list of groceries so that you wouldn't suspect I was coming up with a surprise for you."

"This is a surprise?" I asked a little playfully.

"Spending time just with each other," he whispered into my ear, making my heart race faster.

I pulled back and looked at him. "Haven't we spent plenty of time alone?"

He groaned, running a hand through his dark hair. "Not where we were completely alone, Roza."

I traced a finger down his chest, and his breathing got a bit faster. I laughed softly and leaned away from him.

"Must you make this so difficult for me?" he asked in a slightly husky voice.

"Stay where you are," I told him mischievously, pulling off my shirt.

He let out a soft growl as I came up to him and kissed the side of his neck. "I don't want to stay where I am. I want to be next to you."

"Do you?" I asked, stroking his cheek and tracing the shape of his lips. I knew I was teasing him and flirting like crazy, but I couldn't help it. I was a little curious about if Dimitri would lose control if I kept doing this but not letting us actually touch.

Dimitri pulled me close, and kissed me.

It was a long, passionate kiss, and the way he was touching me made me feel hot all over, and want so much more.

I pulled away from him, and he finally couldn't help himself.

He kissed me again, more fiercely than before. He pulled me towards the bed as our lips met over and over again.

I barely noticed when he started unbuttoning my shorts, too preoccupied with taking off his shirt and his jeans.

We finally lay on the bed, kissing nonstop and barely stopping for air. He ran his finger down my chest, and then towards my hip, and got on top of me, just like the night we'd started getting a little naughty and losing a little control. I wondered how much longer we would be able to do this without losing full control and giving in to our attraction.

I gasped as he leaned down and kissed the area in between my breast, and he slid his hand down to my lower back. I arched up against him and turned over so that I was on my stomach. It was a little difficult with him on me, but I still managed.

He kissed my shoulder blades, and worked his way down to my lower back. He hesitated a little, and I could tell he wanted to go lower. I shook my head and turned back over so I was on my back again.

I gently pushed his hair away from his face, feeling the silky locks under my hands. I kissed his ear, gently sucking on it but being careful not to bite down too hard.

"So…where's my surprise?" I asked him, breathing heavily as I pulled away from him.

He raised an eyebrow at me in mock offense. "This isn't enough of a surprise for you?"

"Of course it is!"

He reached under the bed, and produced a small heart-shaped box wrapped with a silk ribbon. My heart beat faster as he offered it to me.

"What's in it?" I asked, setting it in my lap.

"Open it and find out," he said.

It was full of the chocolates I loved the most – milk, dark, and mint. "Thank you," I murmured, smiling at him. He knew how much I adored chocolate

To my surprise, I saw a tiny rose-shaped chocolate in the center of the box that had "R and D" carved onto it. I blushed a little. The rose was a symbol of love, and at the same time, was my name, even though my full name was Rosemarie.

"There's another thing," Dimitri said, reaching under the bed and producing a second box.

I started blushing at full force as he handed it to me. "But Dimitri, I didn't get you anything!" Some type of girlfriend I was, even if we weren't supposed to be together.

"I wanted to surprise you," Dimitri murmured in my ear, kissing my cheek. "Open it."

I eyed him. "It wouldn't happen to be anything…like lingerie, right?"

"No!" he protested. Now it was his turn to blush. Teasing him was so much fun. It was another thing I enjoyed doing to him-besides making out and spending time alone with him. "Of course not, Roza. What on earth are you thinking?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" I asked, leaning and giving him a kiss. He pulled me close, nuzzling the side of my neck.

"Open it," he whispered again when he pulled away, leaving me breathless.

The side of my neck tingled as I opened the box. I gasped.

A red dress lay inside, wrapped snugly in paper tissue. I looked up at Dimitri, my mouth a circle of disbelief.

"When did you even have time to go out and buy this?" I asked. We spent almost all our time together since we'd arrived in Baia.

He shyly smiled. "I didn't. I took your magazine and showed it to my sisters, since I know nothing about girls' fashion. They then went to the mall and brought the dress for me to give to you. I wanted to go out and buy it myself, but Sonya and Karolina said I wouldn't know what to buy."

I laughed. "They probably have a point."

He put his arm around me, and said, "I want to take you out somewhere. You could wear that dress if we could go out…"

"Where would we even go?" I asked, snuggling into him and closing my eyes.

"Maybe ballroom dancing at one of the fancy hotels away from Baia…or maybe go out for dinner," he said.

Daydreams of us dancing in a hotel ballroom filled my head. Then suddenly his words sank in and I stared at him.

"Wait a minute. You know how to dance?" That seemed highly unlikely for him, the badass Russian god…

He threw his head back and laughed. "Yes, of course. I wouldn't suggest it if I didn't know how to."

He did have a point. My mind flashed back to last Christmas when we'd been at the ski resort and then Tasha had made an offhand comment about playing pool…

I immediately shoved all thoughts of her to the back of my mind. I wasn't going to let her spoil my precious alone time with Dimitri.

I turned around, and caught Dimitri eating a chocolate out of my box. "Hey! That's-"

Before I could finish my sentence, he'd leaned forward and kissed me. I opened my mouth, and when his tongue entered my mouth, I could taste chocolate. When he finally pulled away after an insanely long time, I felt chocolate on my tongue, and swallowed it. That's definitely a new way of kissing, I thought, lightly touching my fingers to my mouth.

Dimitri popped another chocolate into his mouth. I kissed him this time, and he fed me the chocolate with his mouth. This time, it was a mint chocolate.

I lightly kissed his cheek, and then moved my lips down to his neck, nipping at his skin a little.

He gently kissed my shoulder, trailing his mouth down to my hand. I shivered as he kissed each of my fingers. It wasn't anything overly sexual or naughty, and yet it felt good when he did that.

He looked at the clock on the nightstand and sighed. "We probably need to drive to pick up Viktoria."

I pouted, but looked at the time. Holy shit, it was already 3 PM. We must've been together much longer than I'd thought.

* * *

We got dressed and walked out to the Honda Civic in the garage. In all the time we'd been here, we hadn't used it. Baia wasn't a huge city, so we didn't need to drive around all the time anyway.

Viktoria was extremely happy to see us and get released from the hospital. She hopped into the front seat with Dimitri while I sat in the back.

"You haven't come to see us in years," she complained as he deftly drove us out of the downtown area. "What took you so long?"

Dimitri ruffled her hair as we stopped at a traffic light. "Sorry. I've been busy since I left, and you know I sort of lost contact."

Viktoria pouted, which I could see clearly from my seat. "But you know we hadn't moved."

"Sorry, sorry," Dimitri said as we continued driving down the streets.

When we got to Dimitri's house, Olena, Paul, and Yeva were home. Olena was already cooking and getting ready for dinner. Paul was doing his homework, his brow knitting in concentration. Yeva was just sitting in her usual chair and knitting away.

Olena's face lit up when she saw her youngest daughter, and she hugged her tightly. "I've missed you so much! I couldn't wait for you to open your eyes."

"Well here I am," Viktoria said, hugging her warmly. "Hospital food wasn't too bad, but it's nothing compared to your cooking, Mom."

Olena released her, and Viktoria briefly spoke to Yeva in Russian before she rejoined me and Dimitri.

"Has anything happened since the accident?" Viktoria asked, looking around with bright eyes.

Olena looked at Yeva warily. I could tell they were thinking about Tasha and wondering if they should tell her about the unexpected and unwelcomed visitor.

"Tasha came," Dimitri said flatly.

Viktoria's face fell as she looked around at us. "What…what happened?"

"She dropped in unexpectedly, attacked Rose, and tried to use compulsion on me." Dimitri's voice was soft and bitter.

Viktoria's mouth dropped. "Tasha did all that? We should tell her to get out!"

"We can't," Olena said, frustrated. "From what I've seen so far, she really has no place to stay, and as annoying as she's been, we can't just kick her out- yet at least. We'll let her stay one more night, and she's leaving."

"Fine," Dimitri said, nodding to his mother. "As long as she doesn't sleep in Viktoria's room."

"Viktoria just came back from the hospital. Of course she has to let her have her own room," Olena said, banging away in the kitchen. "She's definitely not staying with you and Rose, so she can sleep on the couch downstairs."

"Well, I moved the second bed down earlier…" Dimitri said in a leading way.

Olena raised her eyebrows at Dimitri. Was it a Russian thing, or just something the Belikovs could do naturally? "If you moved it into my study, she can sleep there."

* * *

Everyone came back for dinner before 7:30. And by everyone, that meant Tasha as well.

She looked extremely uncomfortable when she saw everyone in the house practically glaring at her, me the hardest. Viktoria looked confused, but she wasn't exactly warm and friendly to Tasha.

After dinner, I decided I wanted to take a walk. Dimitri wanted to come with me, but I told him to stay with his family, and he agreed.

I took a walk for half an hour or so, breathing in the fresh air. I was going to miss Baia when we had to leave, I thought wistfully to myself. And I'll miss Dimitri's family…his mother, his grandmother, and his sisters.

I walked back into the house, still deep in thought, and went upstairs.

The door was slightly ajar. I peered in, and recoiled, horrified by what I saw.

Tasha was kissing Dimitri.

* * *

**Author's note**: Finally got to update. Sorry if this chapter isn't that good, I had writer's block and it took me awhile to think of what to write for this chapter. It's going to be a busy week, so not really sure when I can update again. Hopefully I'll be able to update soon.


	13. Chapter 13 Jealousy

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Vampire Academy.

* * *

Ch. 13 Jealousy

A million different emotions ran through me when I saw them together. Anger. Shock. Disbelief. Jealousy.

_I_ should be the one Dimitri was kissing and holding. _I_ should be the one that Dimitri was whispering sweet nothings to. It shouldn't be that stupid bitch Tasha! White-hot jealousy and rage shot through me. How dare she kiss _my_ boyfriend! I thought furiously. She should get the fuck- I stopped in shock.

To my horror, _Dimitri was kissing Tasha back_. Clothes lay scattered on the floor near the bed they lay on – where _I_ should've been, not Tasha. The way their bodies were entwining against each other, the way their lips played with each other's…and to my absolute disgust and horror, I could see Dimitri playing with the straps of her tank top. He kissed her very passionately and yanked her tank top off and tossed it away, kissing her the whole time.

I couldn't do anything. My heart felt like it was breaking into a million little fragments that would never be put together again as I watched Dimitri and Tasha. I felt cold all over, like I would never be able to feel any emotions ever again. The time my mom had told me that Tasha had asked Dimitri to become her guardian was nothing compared to this.

All the pain I'd ever felt in my life was _nothing_ compared to this.

I couldn't open my mouth to scream, or move my legs. I knew I had to stop them, and pull Dimitri and Tasha apart, and get Dimitri back. I should at least be screaming for him. He was _mine_, not Tasha's.

I wasn't one to give up without a fight. If I was going to lose any battle, then I wanted to go down fighting – a physical fight, or otherwise.

Suddenly, something occurred to me, and it felt like my whole world was broken.

If _Dimitri_ had initiated the kiss between him and Tasha…well I couldn't do anything about that. It was _his_ choice after all. Maybe he's finally realized what he can have with her that he can't have with me, I bleakly realized as I watched them kiss. If Dimitri wants to be with Tasha, I have to let him be with her. It would kill me, but if that was what Dimitri wanted…

Tasha let out a soft sigh of contention as she moved her hands over his chest and lifted off his shirt. "Dimka," she purred, her blue eyes gazing at Dimitri.

Dimitri opened his eyes. They looked glazed over, like he wasn't really there. I frowned. Why was that look so familiar? Like he wasn't doing that of his own free will.

Dimitri's eyes focused on me, and a hint of life sparked back into his eyes. "R..Rose?"

Tasha whipped around, and I realized with anger that she was wearing a lacy black, almost see-through bra, and equally see-through panties. That fucking slut! I thought. I didn't feel as cold as I had before. Rage coursed through me all over again.

That bitch. She was throwing herself at Dimitri, probably in the hopes of getting him to kiss her (which they were already doing), and maybe sleeping together. Dimitri had a huge capacity for self-control, which I'd hoped would win out against him.

Tasha's ice blue eyes locked with mine, and there was a cold look that read _Back the fuck off _in them. "Forget Dimitri. Leave Russia and never come back. Don't ever think about having a relationship with him ever again! He's mine."

Her voice was as silky and inviting as last night. I almost wanted to listen to her. Dimitri…he'd never belonged to me. He was Tasha's, and I should just leave the two alone and maybe return home to St. Vladimir's. Leaving Russia and never coming back sounded pretty reasonable, a very good idea actually. More compulsion, I realized, like last night. How the hell had Tasha even learned to compel that much?

I shook it off. What Tasha didn't know was that being bonded to Lissa had given me a very high resistance to compulsion. If someone tried to compel me, I could shake it off fairly easily.

I looked her in the eye. "You can't do anything to me. I'm compulsion resistant." Not true, giving what had happened last night…whatever that had been.

From the look in Tasha's eyes she remembered that too. "Stay there, and don't speak!" she hissed at me.

I froze in place, and it felt like my jaw was glued together. I can't move! I realized with a panic. It was like last night, when she had used uncommonly strong compulsion on me.

I wasn't sure how strong Tasha really was in compulsion, but judging from the sweat on her brow, it was taking a lot of effort to maintain it. She was working a lot of compulsion just to try holding me in place.

Dimitri blinked, looking like he'd had a bucket of water thrown over him. "W-what's going on?"

Tasha immediately turned away from me. The hold of her compulsion didn't lessen. "Kiss me," she murmured, pressing herself up against him like a cat.

In my head I was screaming as they kissed very passionately. Them already getting hot and heavy was one thing, but Tasha compelling me into freezing and watching them was a whole different story.

I am punching the fuck out of that skank when I'm freed, I thought darkly to myself. We're supposed to protect Moroi, but in her case, I'll make an exception. I wanted to punch the living daylights out of her for touching my boyfriend that way.

Dimitri pulled away from the kiss, looking confused. "Tasha? What are you doing?"

"I'm doing what we always should have been," she breathed, trying to get closer to him. He pulled away.

"No, this isn't right," he said, sitting up.

A tiny bit of hope surged up in me. Was it possible… that Dimitri had been under the influence of Tasha's compulsion? He _might_ still love me.

But still. I frowned to myself. Dimitri had promised that he wouldn't get into a situation with Tasha, and yet here they were, making out and getting hot and heavy on the bed. God knew what they'd been doing before I'd barged in on them.

"Dimka!" Tasha's voice was full of hurt as the dreamy look faded away from Dimitri's eyes. He glared at her.

"What the _fuck_ were you doing?" If I'd been able to shiver, I would've, but I couldn't move since Tasha's compulsion was holding me in place. I had never seen Dimitri lose control, or swear. He'd once told me about how when he was thirteen, he'd snapped and beat up his Moroi father. "Did…did you compel me like last night?"

Tasha blanched. The guilty look on her face gave it away instantly without her having to speak.

"How the hell could you do that to me?" he yelled, leaning towards her. She cringed away from him, looking terrified and hurt. "How many times do I have to tell you this? I am not interested in you, Tasha!"

"But…but you once said you loved me," Tasha whispered. Sorrow and pain were all over her face. In that moment, I knew she loved him – but she was going at the wrong way to get him. In trying to compel him to confess he loved her, she had lost any hope – if she'd had any to begin with – in him returning her feelings.

Dimitri crossed his arms over his chest, a cold look coming over his face. "Compulsion is wrong and forbidden, as you well know. Why are the Moroi taught from a young age to never use it?"

"What about Vasilisa?" Tasha countered in return, throwing her hands into the air in exasperation. "That element she controls…it allows her to have much greater compulsion than me!"

"Compulsion is part of spirit, and she can't help it," Dimitri replied evenly. "You on the other hand…you are no spirit user."

Tasha flushed bright red and dropped her eyes to the bed, rubbing her shoulders as if she was cold. I acidly noted that she was trying to draw attention to the fact that she was wearing extremely skimpy lingerie. Hopefully Dimitri wouldn't fall for that. I hoped. A flashback of him pulling her tank top off passed through my mind, and I tried to shake it off.

"And just what were you trying to compel me into doing?" Dimitri asked acidly, his Russian accent becoming more pronounced than ever. "Trying to compel me into loving you for the rest of my life?"

"No, no!" Tasha protested, her eyes wide and pleading. "I wouldn't do that." The glint in her blue eyes read a whole different story.

Dimitri finally looked at me. His mouth dropped when he saw me, no doubt frozen like a statue. His voice dropped almost menacingly when he turned back to face Tasha. "What the hell have you done to Rose?"

"I-"

"Release her now!"

Tasha gulped. The hold of her compulsion dropped, and I was finally able to move again.

Dimitri's face was tight with anger. He moved, and slapped Tasha across the face.

"D-Dimka!" she cried, touching her face where he'd hit her. He hadn't hit her that hard, but she looked like he'd stabbed her. "Why…why did you do that?"

I was equally as shocked as Tasha, if not more. Dimitri would never hit a girl or a woman. For him to do something like that…he would've had to been pushed to his very last limits.

"You are not my girlfriend," he said coolly. "We can't have a future together. Especially not after tonight. Using your compulsion on me to force me to want to do things with you I previously wouldn't have wanted."

Tasha shrank back, a tear slipping down her pale cheek. The look on her face almost made me feel sorry for her. Almost, but not really. "But…I love you."

"Love isn't just kissing and making out, Tasha," Dimitri said, walking over to me so he could put his arm around me. I flinched a little at his touch. I didn't want to think about how he'd been kissing Tasha, and touching her.

He continued, "You've been trying everything in your power to try to make me fall in love with you. When that didn't work, you decided to use your compulsion on me to force me to love you. It nearly would've worked, but Rose here came in and foiled your plot."

"Is it so wrong for me to love you?" Tasha whispered, more tears streaming down her face. I wondered if it was an act, but for once, she seemed like a real person. "I have always loved you! You can't deny the feelings you once had for me."

"It's true, I once liked you," Dimitri agreed, his face hard. "But that was in the past. _You_ were unwilling to have an open relationship with me although we eventually both agreed to not have a relationship. If you think that kiss all those years ago meant something more, you are wrong. You have been living a false delusion for the past seven years."

"Delusion? It wasn't my imagination when you kissed me," Tasha cried, putting her hands over her face.

Dimitri shook his head in disgust. There was no room for compromise. "You are a terrible person. I want you to leave my home and never come back. You are not welcome here!"

"Dimka, please! Give me a chance," she begged. It was clearly eating at her pride to have to beg him to let them have a chance at being together.

"Get out!" Dimitri's voice rang out with fury.

Tasha stood, refusing to be cowed. She tried looking straight into his eyes, no doubt to use even more compulsion.

My rage flared up within me again, and this time it was stronger than ever. The noble thing to do would be to let her go…but she'd already wrought so much damage with her compulsion. It was time to give her a little more than a black eye.

I struck out at her, aiming for her jaw.

She was too slow to react as she tried to turn to the side. My fist made contact with her jaw, and there was a slight cracking sound.

"My jaw!" she screamed, falling to the ground and touching the spot where I'd punched her.

I punched her several times, making sure to punch the eye that had a bruise from last night. The old scar on the side of her face looked a little red from me battering her.

"LEAVE MY HOUSE!" Dimitri almost bellowed at her, balling his fists.

Tasha, sobbing hysterically, pulled on her clothes and ran out of the room blindly. I heard footsteps running down the stairs and the door slamming shut below.

* * *

Silence hung in the room for several moments. I turned on Dimitri. "Why the _fuck_ did you let her into our room? You promised me that you wouldn't get into that type of situation with her!"

"I didn't let her in!" Dimitri protested, holding his hand up in a gesture of peace. "She let herself in, and then…" He winced, obviously recalling some memory he'd rather forget. "You can guess the rest."

I scowled, crossing my arms over my chest. "No, I can't, actually."

"She walked in on me while I was reading. I was shouting at her to go away. She acted like she would listen to me…Then I made the mistake of looking into her eyes, and then I fell under her compulsion." Dimitri sighed in exasperation, and closed his eyes, shaking his head slightly. "She used her compulsion to try to seduce me and get me to sleep with her."

I was absolutely disgusted. "And…did you…" This was a very hard question for me to ask, but I had to know.

"Did I what?" Dimitri asked, raising his eyebrow at me, all business.

I gulped, trying to get the words out of my throat. They felt like acid as I spoke them. "Did you…have sex with her?"

"No, Roza," Dimitri said, looking me straight in the eye. "I did _not_ have sex with her, or even come close. I only want to be with you."

I studied his face for a long moment. More than ever, I really wished I had Lissa's ability to see auras. Auras would tell a spirit user whether a person was lying or not. Since I was no spirit user, I had to rely on myself to tell if someone was lying to me or not.

I'd known Dimitri for less than a year. And yet…

In that short amount of time, I'd fallen in love with him. I loved him from the bottom of my heart, and he completed me. He was my soulmate, my other half.

Although I was still more than a little mad how he hadn't told me how he'd once liked Tasha…deep in my heart, I knew he was trying to keep it from hurting my feelings. I couldn't change the past. And it's not like he'd done anything with Tasha like we now did. At least I hoped so.

He hadn't lied to me, at least about that. He believed in honor and doing the right thing. It was the reason we had been hiding our relationship back at the Academy.

I finally looked up into Dimitri's warm brown eyes. He looked back at me, patient as ever.

"I believe you, Dimitri," I said at last.

A smile as warm as the sun crossed his face, and he walked over to me and held me close. "I'm so sorry, Roza," he whispered, kissing the top of my head. "So sorry I let myself fall for her lies."

I didn't say anything, just burying my head into his chest and letting him comfort me.

We sat down on the bed, and didn't say anything.

Finally I spoke. "Have you ever wondered what it would be like, to be with Tasha?"

Dimitri shook his head quickly. "Not since high school. And even when she was asking me to be her guardian…no. All I could think about was you."

I stared down at the carpet. My voice was soft and bitter when I spoke. "But have you ever considered she could give you something I couldn't?"

From the corner of my eye, I could see Dimitri looking confused. "What?"

"A family."

Pain crossed Dimitri's face. We almost never talked about this issue, knowing the inability of dhampir women to produce babies with dhampir men. I knew he loved his family, and he probably would have loved to have a family of his own. But because he was with me, he would never be able to raise a family.

I continued, although I felt very upset continuing on this particular subject. "Although we both know that Tasha is way too desperate and a possible psycho…she could have children with you. You'd be able to have children."

If there was ever one thing I would be jealous of Tasha Ozera for, this was it – her ability to be able to have children. It was the one thing I would never be able to give Dimitri, no matter how hard I tried. Jealousy laced through me as I thought of the children she would be able to give Dimitri, but I would never be able to.

It was completely silent for what felt like hours but in reality was just a few minutes. Finally, Dimitri spoke.

"It's true she could give me kids," he said slowly. "After all, that is part of what she offered me if I became her guardian – we could have an 'arrangement.' But that doesn't change the fact that she is not the woman I love. There is no point in being able to have a family if I'm not with my true love."

My heart fluttered at his words. I couldn't speak for a moment, and I almost blushed. Man, what was it about Dimitri that could make me blush so much? I forced myself back onto the topic at hand.

"Still…sometimes I'm jealous of her," I reluctantly admitted. "I'm jealous of how she could give you something you want more-"

"Hush, Roza," he said, hugging me. "I've made my choice. I won't ever be with Tasha again, considering her manipulative, crazy behavior. I would've once said she was a talented, amazing woman…but no more. It's true, we may agree with her political views, but from now on, that will be the only time we mention her."

"Well…she is Christian's aunt," I pointed out. "We do have to see her from time to time." Ugh. To think I'd once liked her.

Dimitri shrugged. "True, but not that often." He now took me by the shoulders and turned me around so we were facing each other.

"I will love only you for the rest of my life," he continued, his voice deep and sincere. "I can't imagine spending a day without you, or even just seeing you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

I was overwhelmed by his words, and hugged him, not quite sure what to say. When we pulled back, I looked up at him. "I don't want to be with anyone else except you, Dimitri. You complete me. I don't know where I'd be without you, and knowing you love me too."

At that point, Olena called up to us, telling us it was probably time to go to sleep. We were both tired from such a long day, and after getting ready, just fell asleep.

As I started to drift off into sleep, my surroundings changed. I was standing outside on the grounds of St. Vladimir's. The sky was a vivid blue, with just a few puffy clouds in the sky. The sun shone brightly and felt warm against my skin. Beautiful flowers bloomed everywhere, just like how it would be in real life.

I heard footsteps behind me, and turned, wondering who it was. When I saw who it was, my heart leapt a little.

Adrian.

* * *

**Author's note**: It's been a crazy week with STAR testing, so I'm kind of surprised I managed to write a chapter and get it up faster than I expected. Reviews greatly appreciated :)

Also...I'm not really sure where to go with the story from here. I think I have writer's block, because I'm running out of ideas of what to write about, but I really would like to continue writing this fanfic instead of just stopping where it is. So maybe a few plot suggestions would also be greatly appreciated, so I can get some ideas and see some plots you guys might want. Thanks :)


	14. Chapter 14 Dreams

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Vampire Academy.

* * *

Ch. 14 Dreams

I flew at him and gave him a hug. Adrian staggered back but hugged me back. "That's the first time I've ever gotten such an enthusiastic reaction from you, little dhampir," he teased, holding me away at arm's length so he could look at me. "You still look as hot as ever."

I shrugged, looking up at him. His emerald green eyes seemed even greener than usual, which didn't seem possible. He was dressed in a simple white v-neck shirt (guys in v-necks did look good…), and dark jean that were probably designer brand. "Well, it has been a week since I left. Not much has changed."

In the week since I'd left, he hadn't talked to me in my dreams. I wondered briefly if it was because he didn't want to intrude on my dreams while I was with Dimitri.

I looked down at myself. I was wearing a black tank top with some lace along the neckline, shorts, and flip-flops. It was practically what I was wearing when I'd gone to bed, and I was glad I wasn't all dolled up. There was no saying how I could appear in these dreams.

"When are you coming back?" Adrian asked, trying his best to sound nonchalant.

I knew that he missed me, and he wished I would come back soon – even if I wouldn't be with him. "In about two or three days. Didn't you read the dates on the tickets when you were booking them?"

Adrian shrugged, putting his hands in his pockets. "If I did, I forgot. Besides, you know I usually have some alcohol on hand and…"

I shook my head. "At some point in life, you're going to lose your liver at the rate you're going at. Do you keep a bottle of vodka in your nightstand?"

He smirked, running his hands through his already messy dark hair. "Of course, little dhampir. Gotta keep something on hand to calm my nerves."

"Or you could always just look into trying to control spirit instead of blocking it out with alcohol," I remarked. He was almost always drinking, so that he could block out the unpleasant effects of spirit. However, I sincerely doubted that it was really helping him, and he'd probably be drinking. The sun gleamed against the promise ring, which had somehow made its way into my dream. Something occurred to me, and I looked at him again. "How's Lissa?"

Astonishment crossed his face. "Don't you have your bond?"

I sighed, running a hand through my hair. "She…well, she seems kind of mad I would skip out on her like that without telling her anything. I didn't really want all of her feelings in me too much, so I would just check up once in a while." And by once in a while, I meant every few days or so.

Adrian said, "She'll get over it. As long as she never realizes where you really are."

I grimaced. If anyone besides Adrian found out I was in Russia…with my mentor, no less…things could get very ugly. God knew what would happen to me and Dimitri.

"Besides," Adrian added, "she can't stay mad at you forever. You guys are best friends for life. Besides the whole bond, of course."

I smiled when he said "best friends for life," remembering the first day we'd met.

We'd been in kindergarten, and the teacher was trying to teach us how to write our names. Forcing us to write Rosemarie Hathaway and Vasilisa Dragomir over and over was cruel, or so I'd thought at the time. I'd chucked my book at the teacher, and called her a "fascist bastard." Of course, I hadn't known what it meant and I got in huge trouble. But afterwards, me and Lissa became best friends.

"I guess. But still, when her negative feelings sort of seep into me…" I shivered. I still wasn't sure why I absorbed her dark feelings.

Adrian scrutinized me closely. I frowned, but realized he wasn't actually looking at me – he was looking the area surrounding me.

"Your aura…"

"Is it dark?" I asked him.

Adrian cocked his head, his green eyes puzzled. "Interesting. Your aura's still dark, for whatever reason…but it's definitely lightened up. It's the colors that it should be, with only a hint of the darkness."

"What's even causing the darkness you see in my aura?" I asked him.

Adrian shrugged. "I don't know. I still haven't learned everything about auras, you know."

I sighed, staring off at the flowers around us. "You know, whatever you feel…I still do miss you. As a friend, I mean."

A slight smirk crossed his face, and he smiled. "It's nice to know that. You haven't just ridden off into the sunset with Belikov and completely forgotten me."

I scoffed, crossing my arms over my chest. "That's ridiculous and you know it. Even though I'm with Dimitri in Russia, I can't forget everyone back home."

"That's good to know," Adrian murmured. There was a strange look in his eyes, and I involuntarily took a step back.

A slight flash of pain crossed his face when I stepped a little further from him. "I'm surprised you haven't been begging me to end the dream yet," he said, quickly composing his features into a pleasant smile.

I laughed, tilting my head up to the sun. "You don't annoy me the way you usually would if I was back at school, so I might as well. Besides, having an almost real dream is kind of cool."

"Who said it wasn't real?" Adrian asked, amused.

I stared. "You said it was a dream once."

He made a red rose appear from nowhere. The thorns didn't seem to hurt his skin, and with a bow, he offered it to me.

I took it, smiling as I inhaled the sweet scent. A crimson red rose. Just like the rose that was my name.

But then as I stared at the rose, I remembered that its meaning was "I love you." I stared up at Adrian, my eyes going wide.

He gave a half-smile, and stepped closer to me. "I know that you're with Dimitri, and that you both love each other. But remember…I will always be waiting for you."

"You'll be waiting for nothing," I murmured, staring down at the ground as I twirled the rose around in my hands.

He was now right next to me. I felt my breathing come a little faster at the lack of space between us. Dimitri, I reminded myself. You love Dimitri.

He came closer, putting his arms around me. I stiffened at him being so close to me. Now that we were close, I could smell the hints of a slightly heady cologne on him. "I know you do. But it is possible to love two people at the same time."

I shook my head, trying to look away from him and ignore the fact we were so close together. Yet, I couldn't bring myself to walk away from Adrian. "It's not. At least, not for me. Adrian…I'm just not interested in you like that."

Silence hung between us for a moment, thick as fog. Finally, I spoke, and was surprised to see that he was still so close to me. "Could you…could you end the dream, please?"

The sad look in his green eyes deepened and he sighed wearily. "Alright. Sweet dreams, Rose."

With that, everything went black around me, and I went back to my own normal dreams.

* * *

I woke up around sunrise – or "midnight," technically. I was now used to waking up on a human daylight schedule.

A slight feeling of guilt washed over me as I remembered last night's dream visit with Adrian. Although he hadn't directly told me that he loved me, like Dimitri had many times, the rose he'd given me was pretty much of his way of saying it…

I felt something in my hand and I looked down.

It was a single red rose – just like the one that he'd given me in my dream! I stared at it for a moment, in complete shock, before forcing my mind to work again.

What the hell was going on? Why were things from spirit dreams mysteriously starting to carry over into my waking life?

I glanced at the clock, wondering if Adrian would be awake. He probably would be awake, but this hardly seemed the time to be calling him and asking him about spirit dreams.

I rolled over onto my side, studying Dimitri. He snored very quietly, looking peaceful as he kept sleeping. It was one of the few times he seemed truly at peace and not constantly on guard. Whenever he was awake, it seemed like he was always wary and on guard for any threats out to get us.

I smiled over at him although he wouldn't see it, leaned over, and kissed his cheek very softly. I lay back down beside him, and fell back sleep.

Once we woke up and got dressed for breakfast, things got pretty awkward with questions.

"So where'd that skank go?" Viktoria asked, forking up some eggs and putting them in her mouth.

"Well…she left," Dimitri said rather glibly.

"For good?" Olena asked as she bustled around the kitchen and the family room to make sure that everyone had something to eat.

"Yeah," I said, hoping I was right and that Tasha wouldn't be paying an unexpected visit to the Belikov house anytime soon.

"Good riddance," Yeva muttered, banging down her needles very loudly.

"Wait, what happened last night?" Karolina asked, her voice carrying a slight steel note in it as she spoke.

I exchanged a look with Dimitri as he got up to put his plates in the sink. He nodded, but I felt sick to my stomach just thinking about it. "Dimitri, you tell them."

Dimitri gulped, looking at me warily. He then turned to the rest of his family and started speaking in Russian to them. I picked out my name a few times.

Sonya gasped, putting her hand to her mouth. She looked absolutely horrified.

The rest of the family had somewhat varying, but similar faces. Yeva kept her emotions off her face and kept on knitting.

Viktoria let out what seemed to be an expletive in Russian. Olena looked absolutely stunned, and sank onto a wooden chair.

"I've known Tasha for many years. Why would she do something like that?" she gasped.

Dimitri's voice was grim. "She's so desperate to not lose me to Rose that she would do anything to have me. I'm afraid of what might happen if she tries this again. I barely escaped both times that she used compulsion on me. Factor in that I myself once had feelings for her, way back in high school."

"If she does it again…then clearly, there's a possibility you might not be able to resist it," Olena murmured, deep in thought.

Dimitri nodded. "We should probably plan on going home a little sooner than expected."

"You're going back in three days, right?" Karolina said, breaking the silence. Dimitri nodded.

"We'll exchange the tickets for tickets that are a day earlier," Karolina continued, putting her mug to her lips and taking a sip. "If Tasha does want to try to find you again, she'll have a hard time finding you. You'll be safe at St. Vladimir's."

"It's not like she's some Strigoi, trying to hunt us down," Dimitri said dryly. "But that's a good plan. I'll start booking the tickets now." He stood up, and left.

"What's going on?" Paul asked as he appeared from around the corner, rubbing his eyes sleepily.

I smiled at him, not wanting to worry him. "Nothing much. It's just that we might be going home a day sooner than expected."

Paul's face fell as I spoke. "But then you'll be going to the U.S. and I won't see you again, Aunty Rose."

I hugged him, still touched by how he called me aunty. "Don't worry. Someday, I'll come back to Russia and visit you."

Dimitri then walked out of…well, wherever he'd come from. "I've booked the tickets, Roza. We're going back home in two days."

* * *

That night, I had a really bad nightmare, the worst I'd ever had in my life. I dreamed that an unknown blond Strigoi bit Dimitri and started sucking away his blood before my eyes.

"Stop!" I screamed, running towards them. You know how it feels like in dreams, like no matter how hard you try, you can't run fast enough? That's what happened – it felt like my legs were stuck in mud.

The Strigoi sneered, lifting his fangs from Dimitri's neck. Blood – Dimitri's blood – glistened on his fangs and I had to fight from shuddering. "Come and save him if you can," he taunted.

I tried to keep running but I saw it was too late. The Strigoi had already cut himself and was feeding his own blood back to Dimitri, who was too weak to resist.

I yelled towards the blond Strigoi. "Leave him alone!"

Dimitri's tanned skin went as pale as a sheet. He stirred, and exposed his fangs. I shuddered in horror. When he opened his eyes…they were the dark red of a Strigoi.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" I screamed.

I sat up abruptly, my heart pounding, and my skin slick with sweat.

"What's wrong?" I heard Dimitri's voice whisper into my ear as he wrapped his arms tightly around me.

I couldn't help it, and burst into tears. It was only a nightmare, I thought to myself as I cried into Dimitri's chest.

He murmured soft soothing words in Russian while he hugged me tightly and gently stroked my back. When I finally stopped crying, I looked up at him. It was definitely the Dimitri I loved, and not the one from my nightmares.

"Did you have a bad dream?" he asked me.

I nodded.

"Want to tell me about it?"

I hesitated, but told him everything in my nightmare.

Dimitri was quiet for a moment, and didn't let go of me. "It was only a nightmare," he reassured me. "I'm still here, and I'm still a dhampir."

I gave him a wan smile. "I hope it's only a nightmare."

"Go back to sleep, Roza," he told me as we lay back down on the bed. He kissed my cheek. "Sleep, and dream sweet dreams."

I hope so, I thought a little darkly to myself.

Although he said it was just a nightmare, and I'd felt much better when I saw him beside me… I couldn't shake off the feeling that it could be a glimpse of the future. Which made no sense whatsoever, since I couldn't see the future for obvious reasons.

It was only a dream, I hoped.

* * *

Haha this chapter is sort of like a filler chapter...still trying to think of ideas for what else to write about so suggestions/reviews greatly appreciated.

Originally when I wrote this chapter, I'd planned to have Adrian confess his feelings to Rose and then have them kiss, but I don't think that really would've gone well with the rest of the storyline, so I re-wrote the dream part of the chapter. Enjoy reading!


	15. Chapter 15 May I Have This Dance?

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Vampire Academy.

* * *

Ch. 15 May I Have This Dance?

Dimitri finally took me out on a real date the morning after my nightmare. When I opened my eyes, I was surprised to see him looking me over instead of just cuddling up to me like he normally did.

"What?" I asked, sitting up straight immediately. "Do I look bad?"

"No," Dimitri said, stifling a slight laugh. "I think I'm going to take you somewhere special tonight."

I cocked my head at him, intrigued. "Where?"

He laughed. "I don't know yet. But I advise you to wear your dress."

"My…oh!"

I remembered the red dress that he'd given me a few days ago when we'd spent some alone time together in bed. "Why would I need to wear it?"

He smirked a little. He looked very cute when he smirked. "Because I have a feeling the place I'll take you requires formal wear."

I scowled. "I don't have any shoes to wear with my dress!"

"Oh…well, Viktoria could lend you something."

"True," I murmured, stretching and getting out of bed. I padded over to my suitcase and yanked out the dress. "Should I try it on?"

"Are you planning on changing in front of me?" Dimitri asked, a slight hopeful look in his eyes.

"If you behaved yourself for about two seconds," I teased him.

He got out of bed and wrapped his arms tightly around me. "But I've already seen you without your clothes on, Roza," he whispered flirtily, his accent a little bit stronger as he spoke to me.

I blushed furiously and looked away from him. Although the lust charm that Victor Dashkov had put on us was definitely a bad thing, that had been the closest we'd even gotten to making love. Even with the few times that we'd decided to get a little naughty with each other.

"Well, don't let this be the fourth time," I shot back at him playfully. "Turn around."

He raised his eyebrows at me. "Are you afraid of letting me see you?"

I lifted up the edge of my tank top and threw it over my head, and tossed off my sweats. I now stretched, making sure that Dimitri's eyes were on me.

He gulped as I approached him, and gave him a hard, passionate kiss. I pulled away, and slipped my dress on. "Did you see enough yet?"

He caught hold of my wrists, and murmured, "I did once."

I blushed, and then turned to change. "Now, go into the bathroom and clean up."

He put on a slight pout, but walked into the bathroom and I changed into a lacy tank top and shorts. It was still springtime in Baia, but it felt like today would be a hot one.

Since today was a weekend, all the Belikovs stayed home. Even Sonya, although she usually spent 6 out of 7 days working at the drugstore.

I looked around the house a few hours after lunch, wishing we didn't have to go home. At the same time, I knew that I missed all my friends back at St. Vladimir's, especially Lissa.

I told Dimitri softly, "I'm going to check up on Lissa, okay?"

He nodded, and I forced myself to focus on Lissa's mind. I reached out to her mind, using the bond although there were thousands of miles that lay between us.

* * *

I snapped into Lissa's mind so easily it was like I'd never left. I could've been in my own room at St. Vladimir's and just checking up on her.

Lissa's feelings hit me like a tidal wave. She desperately missed me, and wished I would come back from…wherever I was.

"Where the hell is Rose?" she asked, pacing the floor of her dorm room. I saw that Christian and Adrian were already in her room.

It was around six in the morning for them, which meant that curfew was still around four hours away. I had sort of forgotten how to run on vampiric schedule and was thrown a little off, even through the bond.

Christian was trying to calm her down from the look of things. He put his arm around her, and she rested her head on his shoulder, letting out a deep sigh.

"We don't know where she is," he said, "but she's probably fine. Don't forget, she's one of the most badass guardian novices around."

Christian was extremely blunt most of the time. He wasn't always fun to be around, but at least you knew he wouldn't mess with you. I thought he really believed I was fine somewhere and didn't want to worry Lissa even further about me.

Adrian broke in. "I spoke to her through her dreams last night. She's fine."

Hope surged up in Lissa. "Is she okay? Did you find out where she is?" Of course, she hadn't believed for a moment that I was with my mom, even if everyone else at the Academy did.

"Yeah, she's perfectly fine. She looks better than fine, actually." There was an undercurrent of bitterness that Lissa didn't pick up on in his voice. I did, though.

I felt extremely bad for him. He genuinely liked me, despite his reputation as a royal playboy, but still…he knew I loved Dimitri, so he really shouldn't have told me that he would always wait for me. It would make it harder on us both, especially now that he knew that I knew about his feelings for me.

"And…did you find out where she is?"

"I don't know where," Adrian lied smoothly. I prayed that Lissa wouldn't look at his aura and find out he was lying. "She didn't tell me, and I can't read someone's location."

She sighed, too preoccupied to notice much else around her besides feeling Christian close to her. "God, I wish I knew where she was right now. Stupid one-way bond."

"She's probably been checking up on you when she could," Adrian assured her. "And I did manage to find out that she's coming home in two days."

Lissa perked up considerably. "That's good. But I'm still mad she didn't say anything about taking off anywhere." A slight hint of petulance entered her last words.

"She'll come home soon," Adrian said. He shot a look at the clock, and then got up from where he'd been sprawled on the floor. "Well, a few hours to curfew, so I'll just leave you two lovebirds to your love birding. Night."

Lissa and Christian bade him good night. Once the door had shut behind him, Christian kissed Lissa very sweetly on the lips.

_Uh oh_, I thought as their kiss intensified. _Time to get out before any clothes get ripped off. _

I returned to myself, and glanced at the clock. 4:10 in the afternoon.

Dimitri gently tugged on my arm when I stretched my stiff limbs. "Come on, Roza. I'm taking you out. Go get changed and I'll meet you in the car in ten minutes."

Time for our date…wherever he's taking me, I thought as I quickly ran up to the guest room. I changed out of my casual clothes and into the red dress he'd given me. I frowned when I remembered I didn't have any shoes. I trotted out of the guest room and knocked on Viktoria's room, barefoot.

Viktoria opened her door, her dark hair tied up in a ponytail. "Oh hi, Rose!"

"Hi, Viktoria. Do you have any shoes I could borrow to go with this dress?"

She stepped back into her room and opened her closet. Tons of shoe boxes lay scattered about the room. "Help yourself."

It took me about five minutes to find a pair of shoes that actually fit _and_ went with the dress. I finally decided on a pair of black two-inch heels. I struck a pose in front of Viktoria. "Thoughts?"

"You look very nice," Viktoria said with a grin. "Have fun with my brother!"

"Thanks!" I told her as I trotted back into my room and yanked my curler out of the suitcase.

* * *

A few minutes later, my hair was in perfect little curls. I briefly glanced at my reflection and ran out to the driveway to meet Dimitri.

Somehow, he'd changed into a white dress shirt, slacks, and dress shoes without having gone to our room. I'd never seen him wearing formal clothes before, and he looked so good in them!

He turned at my approach, and his eyes widened. "You look beautiful, Roza," he said, courteously bowing to me and kissing my hand.

The kiss conveyed much more than admiration, and I was glad that my curls hid my slightly rosy face.

"Where are we going?" I asked as I got into the seat next to him, and we started backing out of the driveway.

"Ob," he replied with a grin. "We're going to eat…and do something else."

I eyed our formal wear a little warily. "Ice skate?"

He laughed. "No, but you're close. It's going to take a few hours."

I closed my eyes. "Then wake me up when we get there, Comrade."

* * *

My dreams were my own this time as I slept. There were no dream visits from Adrian. I was extremely grateful that the nightmare from last night didn't pop back up again.

Dimitri woke me up two hours later, around six in the afternoon, when we pulled into a parking space with a meter. He slipped some money into the meter and I looked at the time. "We're not leaving until eleven?" I asked, cocking my head at the meter.

He laughed and held his hand out to me. "Yep. Come on, let's grab a bite to eat."

We went to a high-class Russian restaurant and Dimitri ordered for both of us. It was the first time I'd ever tasted caviar and borscht.

I eyed my plate suspiciously once the server had left. "Are you sure it's edible?"

Dimitri looked at me from his own plate, looking both amused and exasperated. "They serve it in all the expensive restaurants. I promise it's not poisoned."

Well, time to give it a try, I thought wryly as I put the spoon to my mouth. I doubted Dimitri would be happy if I demanded something else.

A strong flavor flooded my mouth, and I swallowed. "It actually tastes pretty good!" I said, spooning up more.

Dimitri laughed at my expression. "I told you so."

I made a face at him. "Don't be so smug Comrade," I grumbled, and continued until I'd finished my soup.

* * *

After dinner, we left the restaurant and walked down the street to an older-looking building.

I looked at it curiously. It was painted in bright colors, and the windows were large. There was a long line waiting to get in.

"What are we doing here?" I grumbled, staring at the line. "It's going to take forever to get in!"

Dimitri smiled mysteriously. "You'll see once we get in. It'll be worth it."

I looked at the other people in line, noting they were mostly Moroi and dhampirs. My curiosity grew. I looked up at Dimitri. "And everyone's dressed up formally." I was suddenly grateful I had dressed up.

We waited in line for about twenty minutes before we finally got into…wherever we were going. After Dimitri handed some money over to a man standing at the front door, we stepped in. I gasped as I looked around.

Inside looked like a room right out of the palaces from the tsarist days of Russia (at least, from what I'd seen in books). Elaborate chandeliers with candles hung from the ceilings, and there was gild everywhere. To our right, there was a large dining room filled with tables and booths draped with lacy tablecloths. The floor under our feet was covered with detailed tiles.

"It's a night club that's mostly for Moroi and dhampirs," Dimitri explained to me as I gazed around. To my surprise, I saw he was right. There were very few humans in sight, but plenty of Moroi and dhampirs. "There's a similar place in Saint Petersburg. The English translation of the name is Nightingale."

"This looks like somewhere right out of the tsarist days of Russia," I breathed, voicing my earlier thoughts.

"It's modeled after one of the places in the tsar's residents," Dimitri explained as he led me into the dining room.

I looked around as we entered. There was a space cleared away on the far side of the dining room, and soft waltz music played. Couples danced together there, and now I realized why Dimitri had brought me here.

"But I don't know how to dance very well!" I protested in an undertone to him as the music was paused.

"I know how to," he whispered back as we crossed the room, "and it's not a dance competition."

He had a point, I conceded to myself.

Once we reached the dance floor, he bowed to me like he had earlier. "May I have this dance, Roza?"

"Certainly, _monsieur_," I said with a smile as I curtsied to him, throwing in a fake French accent. My skirts rustled softly as I rose from my curtsy.

He took my hand in his, and wrapped his arm around my waist. I rested my free hand on his shoulder.

The music started again, and we were dancing.

"What are we even dancing?" I asked him as we gracefully moved around the room to the music. Although we were no Dancing With the Stars dancers, I thought we danced pretty well.

"It's a waltz," Dimitri said, twirling me and then holding me close.

"I feel like Cinderella at the ball," I murmured as we kept moving. "Or Sleeping Beauty after she woke up from her sleep. Pick any princess, and I sort of feel like them."

"You _are_ my princess," Dimitri murmured sweetly to me.

I leaned my head against his chest, and we kept dancing. I never wanted this dance to end.

* * *

Rose and Dimitri's first date :D Enjoy reading


	16. Chapter 16 Home

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Vampire Academy.

* * *

Ch. 16 Home

It felt like we'd danced for a long time, but eventually we had to leave and return to Baia.

"Just one more dance?" I pleaded, looking up at Dimitri when it was around ten.

Dimitri sighed but put his arm around my waist and took hold of my hand again. "Only one more dance, and we're out of here," he warned me.

I gave him my best innocent smile. "Whatever you say, Dimitri." The smirk on his face told me he wasn't falling for it.

The last dance…it was the tango. Very fast and sultry, if you asked me, which was perfectly fine with me. We were moving so closely together that it felt like there was no space between us.

After the music ended, Dimitri kept hold of my hand. "Come on, let's go Roza."

I reluctantly let him lead me off the dance floor and we walked outside to the car meter.

"Thank you for taking me here tonight," I whispered to him. "It was one of the best nights of my life."

He kissed me softly, and smiled. "It was fun, dancing with you. Let's go home now."

* * *

"We're finally back in America," I murmured sleepily as we got off the plane.

Dimitri smiled down at me as he led me through the busy airport at Missoula.

It was now barely dawn. We'd flown back to Missoula from Ob, and it seemed to have taken forever. I'd shed tears while bidding the Belikovs goodbye. Viktoria wept the hardest, and made me promise to keep in contact as often as I could.

We'd then driven to the airport at Ob, and went through the entire checking in and security process. The security wasn't nearly as tight as the airports in America, which I was grateful for.

On the plane, I'd talked with Dimitri. We knew that once we arrived at the gates of St. Vladimir's, we couldn't act like a couple anymore. We would have to pretend that we had a strictly professional teacher-student relationship.

However, I'd come to a decision while we'd still been in the air. It was time to tell Lissa the truth about me and Dimitri. My secret wouldn't remain one for much longer.

I'd talked with Dimitri about it, and he agreed. "You can't hide it from your best friend forever," he'd said, gently squeezing my hand. "It hurts you to keep secrets from her, so I think this is the best thing for you to do. And besides, once you graduate, it'll all come out anyway."

I sighed, but something occurred to me. "Once I graduate…but that would imply that things had been going on between us when I was a student. It could get you in trouble."

Dimitri had shrugged, not seeming too concerned about this problem, which had surprised me. "Just wait a week or two once you graduate to announce it."

Now back at the airport, he led me to one of the terminal parking lots. It was a huge struggle to keep my eyes open. I hadn't been able to sleep much on the plane, and now returning to our nocturnal schedule was throwing me off.

Dimitri shot a smile at me as we kept on moving through the parking lot. "Don't worry. It's the weekend anyway, so you can take a day off and sleep."

"Yay for sleep," I muttered groggily. He pulled out a key, and the lights of a silver Honda Civic beeped noisily.

"I just want to sleep," I groaned, leaning my head against his chest. I nearly slipped before he caught hold of my arm and kept me upright.

"Sleep while we're driving," he said, gently stroking my face as he opened the passenger side and buckled me in.

After stuffing our luggage in the back, he slammed the trunk shut and came around to the driver's side. He got into the car, and started backing up the car.

I instantly fell asleep after the car started to move.

* * *

My dream surroundings felt very solid.

I looked around. The new computers, the circle tables, the smell of books…I was in the library at St. Vladimir's.

I looked around, putting my hands on my hips. "Adrian?"

He popped up from behind a bookshelf. "Little dhampir."

I jumped although I knew he'd been somewhere around. "You scared the _shit_ out of me!"

"Sorry," Adrian shrugged, not sounding particularly sorry at all.

I felt a twinge of unease, remembering the last time he'd pulled me into a spirit dream. His expression was wry as he took in my expression.

"Don't worry, I haven't come back to make moves on you," he assured me. "I was just curious…where are you right now?"

I tried to raise an eyebrow at him but failed miserably judging from his face. "I landed at Missoula with Dimitri like…..half an hour ago. I'm on my way back."

"Finally," he said melodramatically, putting his hand over his heart. "I've been wasting away without you, little dhampir."

I rolled my eyes at his dramatics, but I knew that he really had missed me. "Well I'm on my way home so yeah."

"Might be time to use a bit of compulsion to make a few people get crazy ideas of where you are," he mused, stuffing his hands into his jean pockets.

Alarm shot through me at his words and I gripped his arm. "No! You'll make yourself worse!"

And we don't need a spirit user going crazy, especially since he already self-medicates on alcohol so much, I added in my head.

Adrian rolled his eyes. "I'll be fine if I did. But since you don't want me to…"

"Don't," I sternly ordered, letting go.

"Fine," Adrian grumbled, reaching into his pocket and lighting a cigarette. The smell instantly filled the air. Yuck.

I scowled at him, and made a big show of waving away the cloud that lightly blew towards me. "Could you not? It's bad enough you want to give yourself lung cancer in your waking life."

The cigarette (and the smell) instantly disappeared, thank goodness.

"Well…I'm guessing that you'll be back in a few hours, so I'll just let you rest up until then," Adrian said. The dream landscape around me slowly started to fade, and I sank back into true sleep.

* * *

I woke up two hours later, and we were pulling up to the gate at St. Vladimir's. It was now "night" for us, even though the sun shone brightly on the school grounds.

The guardians at the checkpoint verified our identities, and let us through.

I looked around me. The Academy looked exactly the same as when I'd left it.

Dimitri pulled into the parking lot. He helped me out of the car, and got our luggage out of the car.

"Let's get you to your dorm so you can sleep," he said gently, briefly entwining his hand with my own. With a sigh, he let go of my hand.

"Mkay," I murmured sleepily. "But Lissa…"

"It won't do you any good if you pass out trying to see her," Dimitri said firmly as he led me up the path. "You're getting some sleep first then you can go see her."

He checked me in with the dorm matron, and asked to see me to my room so I wouldn't trip over. The dorm matron agreed, clearly thinking I would pass out somewhere along the way to my room.

I changed into a tank top and sweats before stumbling my way over to the bathroom, where I brushed my teeth.

I examined my reflection in the mirror. My long dark hair was matted and wild on one side, and my eyes had circles under them. Clearly I wasn't at my best.

I looked down at my silver promise ring. With a sigh, I took it off and went back to my room.

Dimitri was still there. I put my ring into the box and put it back into my nightstand and leapt into my bed. I wouldn't be able to wear it for some time.

"Good night, Roza," he whispered softly to me as he tucked the blankets loosely around me, and kissed my forehead.

"Night, Dimitri," I whispered back, closing my eyes.

* * *

Another spirit dream wrapped around me. This time, I was standing outside the Academy's gates.

I looked around for Adrian. "Okay, I know you're here."

Adrian popped up out of nowhere, which made me jump. "Little dhampir."

I felt a familiar presence, and gasped. "No way."

Lissa ran towards me, her luminous blond hair practically glowing in the sunlight that surrounded us. "Rose!"

She threw her arms around me and hugged me. I hugged her back. I'd missed her so much even though we couldn't truly be apart, with the bond we shared.

"Where have you been?" she asked as she let go of me and looked me over. "The school's been buzzing with talk about where you've been!"

Well. No one had believed Alberta's story that I was visiting my mom, and I couldn't really blame them. It must've gotten out that I wasn't exactly on good terms with my mom from last Christmas. I offhandedly wondered what stories had been going around about where I'd been.

I hesitated as I looked her in the face. I knew I could tell her the truth, and I should…but I couldn't bring myself to do so while Adrian was around.

"I'll…tell you when we wake up," I said at last.

Lissa frowned. "What's going on? Just tell me."

She had the look that said she wasn't going to stop until she found out. She was very stubborn in her own way. I sighed. "I was in Russia."

She froze. I allowed her thoughts to stream through the bond and into me. She'd expected me to have maybe gone traveling on my own…but Russia wasn't the place she'd been expecting. "_Russia_? What on earth were you doing in Russia of all places?"

"I'll tell you tomorrow," I repeated.

Lissa sighed but nodded. She directed her thoughts at me. _And you better explain in _detail_._

"How'd you get into the dream?" I asked, looking from Adrian to Lissa. "Last time I thought Lissa couldn't create a spirit dream."

"I still can't," Lissa grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest. "I've tried and tried, but I can't do it."

Lissa had constantly complained that she wished she could walk in people's dreams the way Adrian could. Her strengths were healing – which she'd done without knowing at the time to bring me back from death – and compulsion.

Adrian could walk dreams, and to a lesser extent, he'd learned to heal and grow plants although not as well as Lissa could.

"This is the first time I've ever been able to pull Lissa into a dream that wasn't her own," Adrian put in, his green eyes thoughtful. "I've never been able to pull her into a dream like this before."

"And if he can now do it…there's hope that I might be able to learn how to walk dreams," Lissa continued, her eyes bright with hope.

I could feel the longing in her to be able to learn more spirit abilities. So far while working with Adrian, she'd learned to see auras but not much else. Adrian had made more progress learning how to heal than her learning to walk dreams.

The surroundings around us began to fade. Alarm coursed through Lissa and into me. "What's going on?"

Adrian scowled. "Someone's waking me up, so I have to go. Later."

With that, the dream completely dissolved and I was dreaming my own dreams.

* * *

I woke up to see that it was around five in the afternoon. Time for me to wake up and see Lissa, I thought to myself.

I quickly showered and dressed in record time. I then headed over in the direction of the Moroi dorms.

There wasn't anyone watching the door, which surprised me. Usually there was a dorm matron who was permanently stationed at the front door.

I walked up the stairs to the third floor. Because there were so much Moroi than dhampirs, the Moroi dorms had more rooms and were more crowded in general.

I knocked on Lissa's door. I purposely closed off the bond because I didn't want an advance warning of how she would react when she saw me.

The door opened, and Lissa stood there. Her jade green eyes went wide when she saw me.

I briefly wondered if she would be mad at me, but that thought was squashed when she pulled me in for a hug.

"Rose!" her voice was slightly choked up when she spoke. "I've missed you so much!"

"I've missed you too," I said as she pulled me into her room and shut the door behind us.

Russia hadn't been the same without her. Although I'd had a wonderful time in Russia with Dimitri and had loved spending time with him…it hadn't been the same without my best friend by my side. It was good to be reunited with her at last, since seeing her in a spirit dream was nothing compared to real life.

"You really were in Russia?" she asked me. I nodded.

I could feel her hesitation, and the question that was burning on her tongue. "Spit it out, Liss."

"Why…why were you in Russia?" she asked at last, not able to look at me while she asked.

One of the hardest questions of all. She was my best friend, and she would never tell anyone…but it was still a hard question to answer. I took a deep breath for strength, and let it out. It's time to reveal the truth, I thought.

"Liss…I have something to tell you."

* * *

Dundundun...Rose is finally going to tell Lissa. What do you think Lissa's reaction will be? Reviews greatly appreciated :)


	17. Chapter 17 Confession

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Vampire Academy.

* * *

Ch. 17 Confession

"What is it?" Lissa's confusion grew as she tried to guess what I was going to tell her.

I looked her in the eye, and took another deep breath to steady it. I was just going to be straight with Lissa and not "beat around the bush." "Liss…I went to Russia…with Dimitri."

Shock ran through the bond and into me. Lissa looked like she was temporarily speechless. After a few moments of trying to choke out her words she was finally able to talk again. "You…went to Russia with your _mentor_?"

_Why on earth would she have gone to Russia with Guardian Belikov?_ she mused to herself. _Guardian training exercise?_

I just sat and waited for her to piece it together. A few moments later, she got it.

"You're….you're….you're in love with Dimitri?" she asked, her voice and mind stunned.

I nodded. Although she'd been my best friend forever, I had no idea how she'd react when she found out.

Lissa's mind was rapidly working as she tried to work through. I felt her mind flash back to a shopping trip to Missoula that we'd gone on a few months ago. I'd been talking with Dimitri, and we'd both agreed that we wanted someone to kill us if we ever got turned into Strigoi.

Another strong memory flew through her mind. Last Christmas at the ski lodge, I'd been really rude to Tasha. Lissa hadn't heard about Tasha's offer to Dimitri until later, but now with the knowledge of my feelings for Dimitri it made sense.

More memories rushed through her, and she took a deep breath. "And…does he love you back?"

"Yes," I whispered, looking at the floor. "We've tried to stay away from each other, but it never worked."

"That's why you wouldn't date anyone for so long," Lissa murmured, her eyes distant. "You were in love with Dimitri back then, and you still are."

"We can't let our feelings for each other distract us from you," I said, still a little bitter. I remembered Dimitri had told me he'd try to get reassigned, but I didn't want to count on that possibility too much.

"But…you guys love each other," Lissa whispered. "You shouldn't let protecting me get in the way of your feelings."

"You're the last one left in your line," I reminded her. "As the last Dragomir princess, we have to protect you, no matter what."

A bit of anger coursed through her – not about her being the last Dragomir, but at _me_. "Why didn't you ever tell me?" she demanded. "I'm your best friend, no matter what. I wouldn't have told anyone."

I swallowed and looked down again. "I just…I just could never find the right time to tell you. I've tried, but you had other things on your mind."

Lissa's anger faded a little, and her eyes were apologetic. "Oh…I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault," I said, shaking my head. "I'd wanted to tell you for a long time."

"When…when did you guys find out that you both loved each other?"

I sighed. That was an extremely hard question, and involved talking about the lust charm Victor Dashkov had put on us the night of he'd kidnapped Lissa. "Well…do you remember when Victor kidnapped you?"

Lissa's eyes widened with fear. "Yeah. What about that?"

"He wanted to distract me and Dimitri from going off to find out. That rose necklace he gave me….he put a lust charm on it."

"A WHAT?"

I flinched at Lissa's shout and she calmed down. Her emotions were going a bit high with the mention of that night. I willed her anger and fear to disappear…and it did. But I didn't know why it did.

"He put a lust charm," I repeated. "I think he was hoping that we'd be spending the whole night getting it on so we'd be too distracted to find you. But Dimitri figured out something was wrong with the necklace and chucked it out the window."

"How…how far did you get?" Lissa asked, her voice very small as she spoke.

I shivered as I remembered that night. "We came very close…It was really the last moment before he pulled back and realized something was wrong."

Lissa was silent for a moment. Then her face lit up. "I forgive you for not telling me about him. It would be a hard thing to tell anyone. But now you don't have to keep it a complete secret."

I laughed and we hugged. That was the thing about Lissa – when she got mad, she couldn't stay mad for too long, at least.

_So…what are you going to do now? About you and Dimitri?_ she asked in my mind.

I sighed and played with my hair. "It feels better now that you know about us…but for now, we still have to stick to staying away from each other. If word gets out about us…" My voice trailed off.

"You guys will be in so much trouble," Lissa finished, her voice going a bit flat as she spoke.

I shuddered at the thought if anyone else found out. The fact that we were guardians already would make people look down on us for having a relationship. Add the student-teacher relationship part and we had a nice big mess on our hands. If anyone else found out, Dimitri could be arrested. At the very least, he'd be fined and maybe be temporarily suspended from being a guardian.

"Who else knows?" Lissa asked gently.

"Adrian," I grumbled.

Lissa gasped. "What? Are you serious?"

"Why would I be fucking around with this?" I asked in exasperation. "It's not like I publicized it."

"Then how the hell did Adrian find out?" Lissa asked, a little aghast that the guy who was hitting on me had found out.

I rolled my eyes. "He looked at our auras and knew. I kept telling him to stay the fuck out but of course, he would never listen."

"Typical Adrian," Lissa agreed, her voice dry. "But just hang on a few months longer. Three more months until graduation, and you'll be able to freely go out with Dimitri."

I smiled, thinking about what we'd be able to do once I'd graduated. "And my birthday is coming up soon, so they can't give me too much crap about this once we get out of here."

Lissa smiled too. "Oh yeah. Besides wanting to be with Dimitri when you guys went to Russia…why did you go?"

"His younger sister was in a car accident and went into a coma, and he wanted to be sure she was fine so he went on leave for a week," I explained.

"Oh my God! Is she alright?" she asked, concerned.

"Yeah, she woke up from her coma when we were there," I assured Lissa. Then I made a face, knowing I'd have to tell her about Tasha.

"What's wrong?" Lissa asked, reading the expression on my face.

"And while we were there…Tasha dropped in for a visit."

Lissa raised her eyebrows. "Tasha? What on earth would she be doing in Russia while Dimitri was there?" She was smart, having figured out there was some connection between them.

I grimaced, but told her the whole story. I told her about how when Dimitri and Tasha were still in school, Tasha had fallen in love with Dimitri. He'd only liked her back, and they'd shared a kiss his graduation night. They'd never made plans to formally be a couple because of how Moroi-dhampir relationships weren't encouraged.

Then came another hard part…telling Lissa about how Tasha had used compulsion on me and Dimitri. As I told her, the awful memories replayed through my head. Tasha is just fucked up and disgusting, I thought.

"EW!" Lissa yelled when I told her about Tasha trying to compel Dimitri into wanting her and forgetting about me. "That is just sick and twisted. Why the hell would she be that desperate?"

"She wanted Dimitri to love her back, at any cost," I said bitterly.

"I would never have pictured Tasha doing that in a million years," Lissa said, shaking her head in disbelief. "Using compulsion…"

"I still got the feeling her compulsion was nowhere as strong as yours," I said, "but damn, it was pretty strong. Especially considering how she doesn't even control spirit."

"Maybe she's been learning dark magic in order to become so strong in compulsion," Lissa said darkly.

I laughed at that. "That's hilarious, Liss. We both know there's no such thing as dark magic."

Lissa shrugged, and looked over at me. "Oh yeah. How did you get to Russia? Plane tickets aren't cheap."

I sighed, and twisted my hands together. "Well…Adrian got me the tickets to get to Russia and come back home."

Lissa's mouth became very round. "Adrian? I thought he'd want to prevent you from going to Russia at all costs!"

"I thought the same thing too," I said. "But…anyway, he overheard Dimitri talking to Alberta, and then he decided that he wanted to help me out. He said he knew I'd be really miserable without Dimitri and that's why he wanted to do it."

Lissa let out a low whistle and leaned back in her chair. "Wow. That's something I never would've expected of Adrian. Especially if you consider his partying, playboy ways…"

And how his playboy ways lead him to sleeping around with probably half of the female population, I added in my head. It was a mean thing to say, but there was no denying the fact that Adrian was absolutely notorious for sleeping around, and wasn't exactly known for always remaining faithful. I was surprised that so far, when we woke him up, we hadn't found any girls that had been sleeping in his room.

"Well, still, that was nice of him," I said aloud. I didn't really want to tell Lissa about the whole Adrian-basically-confessed-his-feelings dream. It was something I wanted to keep to myself a little longer.

Lissa stretched, and looked over at the clock. Six in the "morning" – classes would start in half an hour. "Should we get some breakfast?"

"Yeah, let's go," I said. We got up and started down the stairs.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot to tell you…he gave me a promise ring," I whispered to Lissa after we'd exited the dorm. The sun was still above the horizon, and it still felt pretty warm.

Lissa looked downright excited and nearly stopped in her tracks. "That's so cute! Can I see it? And does he have one of his own?"

"After school, and yeah, his ring matches mine," I told her, nudging her to get her to move towards the cafeteria. "If we don't hurry up and get breakfast, all the food's going to be gone!"

* * *

Haha this chapter was kind of short...Hopefully the next one will be longer. Now I have more writer's block, and I'm not 100% sure where to go with the story from here...


	18. Chapter 18 Headed to Court

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Vampire Academy.

* * *

Ch. 18 Headed to Court

It's been almost a month since I've returned from Russia with Dimitri. Life is pretty much returned to the same old thing from before I left. Classes, training sessions with Dimitri…and the field experience.

The field experience was a novice's biggest test before she graduated. If a novice didn't pass it, she wouldn't graduate and become a guardian. I was determined to have one of the best field experiences in my class.

Of course…I hadn't expected to be assigned to Christian. We were both snarky and sarcastic, so despite our similar personalities, we didn't always get along. I'd wanted to be paired with Lissa, but Eddie had ended up with her. I hadn't taken it so well when I'd received my assignment…

_Flashback_

_When everyone had finished receiving their Moroi assignments for the field experience, I stalked up to Alberta, ready to start screaming about the unfairness of my assignment. I almost stopped in my tracks when I saw her talking to Dimitri. He looked at me out of the corner of his eye. From that look, I knew he had been anticipating that I would be going over to yell. I hesitated, but stormed over to them._

"_Are you out of your mind?" I yelled, throwing my packet onto the floor. "Why did you assign me to _Christian_, of all people? I'm supposed to be with Lissa!" It was a true miracle that I hadn't started cussing with all the bad words I could think of. _

"_Rose!" Dimitri's voice was harsh, and I flinched as he glared at me. There was absolutely no hint that we were secretly in love with each other. This was my battle ready instructor, chastising a rude student. "You do _not_ talk to your instructors this way. Don't be so disrespectful."_

_I took a deep breath, and tried to control myself and my trigger-happy temper. When I looked back up, Alberta's face looked like stone. There was a slight hint of sympathy in Dimitri's eyes, which deeply surprised me._

"_No one gets to choose who their assignments are, in the field experience or otherwise," Alberta said firmly, crossing her arms over her chest as she looked down at me. She was strict but fair, and I respected her for that. "There are no rules saying someone gets to be assigned to another for whatever reason."_

"_But I'm supposed to be assigned to Lissa after graduation!"_

"_We don't know that right now," Dimitri cut in. I felt a pang, but he had to play his role of a scolding mentor or our cover would be blown faster than I could pack up. "It's true, you're the best choice for Vasilisa when you graduate, but it's not given."_

_I took in a deep breath, and tried to calm myself. "Sorry," I said to Alberta with some difficulty. I turned back to Dimitri, fighting to keep a guardian face. "But don't you think because of the bond, I should be the one who gets assigned to Lissa for the field experience?"_

"_Your bond with her is useful, but it could be a handicap," Dimitri said._

"_How?" I asked. How the hell could anyone think that my bond with Lissa could be a handicap?_

"_If the princess constantly relies on you to protect her, she could be put at risk. Having a guardian who doesn't share a bond with her makes her more prepared if something happens to her."_

_I bit my lip, keeping silent. Damn it. He had me, and he knew it._

"_This will also prepare you for if you ever become assigned to another Moroi," Alberta added. "If you want to become an excellent guardian, you'll do this. And, if you don't accept your assignment, you won't do the field experience at all."_

_As I'd noted before…the field experience was one of the biggest factors in determining if a novice graduated or not. I looked at Alberta and Dimitri coolly and picked up my packet._

"_Fine. I'll do this," I said, my voice icy. "But I want it noted that I'm doing this against my will."_

"_I think we already know that, Miss Hathaway," Alberta said dryly, exchanging a look with Dimitri._

"_Whatever. I think this is a horrible idea, and you'll see it too," I said, stomping out of the gym._

_End of flashback_

To my surprise, Christian wasn't too bad to put up with. And as an added bonus, since he was going out with Lissa, I still had a chance to see her even if it wasn't as often as I would like. So far, I'd also protected Christian from the guardians playing Strigoi pretty well.

"Rose, hurry up and get ready," Christian grumbled, snatching my blankets off my sleeping bag.

I shot up and peered outside. The sun was still pretty high above the horizon, and I guessed it was around 5 or so. My training sessions with Dimitri had been put on hold while I was on the field experience. "It's still early! Why the hell do I have to get up?" I grumbled, flopping back down onto my sleeping bag.

"I want to go to the library and see Lissa," he said, crossing his arms over his chest. "Hurry up, and don't pretend you don't want to see her."

I rolled my eyes and threw my pillow at him as I got up. "If you weren't such a pain in the ass, Sparky, I think I'd like you."

"Funny, I think the same thing," he shot back at me.

I got ready in about five minutes, which was a new record for me. I waited for Christian to get ready, and we headed over to the library.

I reached out with the bond. Lissa was walking to the library as well, with Eddie in tow.

"She's on her way," I said to Christian, keeping an eye out for potential threat. The only answer Christian gave was a grunt of acknowledgement.

* * *

I stayed with Lissa and Christian as the near guard. Eddie stayed back and watched our surroundings so he was the far guard.

To my surprise, Dimitri came to us. I looked him over. He wasn't dressed in all-black, so he wasn't playing Strigoi. "Headmistress Kirova wants to see you."

Astonishment flooded the bond and Lissa hastily stood up. "What happened?"

"She wants to talk to you both," Dimitri said. His gaze fell on me. "And you, Rose."

I felt unease twinge through me. I'd been careful to keep my record as clean as possible ever since returning to the Academy in October. What on earth could she want to talk to me about?

"Let's go, then," I said, standing up.

Eddie came closer. "I'm still watching over Lissa," he said.

Dimitri nodded to him, and we started out of the library and across the quad towards Kirova's office.

I felt really nervous, although I hadn't done anything wrong in the past few months.

It's probably nothing, I tried to tell myself, but I wasn't buying it.

* * *

We arrived in Kirova's office. I'd spent plenty of time here before, and she gave long (but admittedly good) lectures, which was probably the only reason she'd become the headmistress.

She was waiting for us at her desk, looking more like a vulture than ever. She nodded to us as we both walked in, trailed by Dimitri and Eddie.

"Miss Dragomir, Miss Hathaway. Please, have a seat."

We both sat down in front of her, and I could feel the anxiety pulsating from Lissa. It started to leak over into me until I felt as anxious as she did.

Ugh. The one thing I didn't like about the bond – how Lissa's feelings could leak into me sometimes, and affected my own moods. Whenever Lissa got angry, I got angry too but she calmed down.

"It's nice to see you," Lissa said, feeling uneasy even as she spoke.

Headmistress Kirova laced her fingers together. A moment passed and she spoke, not bothering with pleasantries.

"As you recall, Victor Dashkov was put into prison a few months ago, for attacking you, Miss Dragomir, and for putting a compulsion spell on Miss Hathaway that made her attack Guardian Belikov."

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Dimitri briefly tense up before he wiped all the emotions off his face. The story we'd given officials was that Victor had put a compulsion charm into a necklace that had me attack Dimitri. Of course, no one (except me, Dimitri, and Victor) had known that in reality, he'd put a lust charm on the necklace to make me and Dimitri give in to our most basic instincts.

Fear flooded Lissa at the mention of Victor. He'd once been like an uncle to her, and he had lied to her and used her for his own means. "Yes, of course I remember. But what does he have anything to do with me now?"

Headmistress Kirova hesitated again. "Well…I've recently had word that he's only now going to trial at Court."

"What?" Lissa shouted, springing to her feet. I flinched at her sudden movement but didn't move. "I thought he was put away in jail!" My thoughts exactly, I thought wryly.

"Yes, but he hasn't actually been sent to trial for what he did," Headmistress Kirova said. "Remember, he is – was – a very powerful royal. Her Majesty wanted to name him her successor until they discovered his illness. And these things take time, Miss Dragomir."

"Why did you tell us this?" I broke in. I got the feeling students weren't privy to this type of information. Why would she be telling us?

I was also furious that Victor Dashkov still hadn't been sentenced to…well, at least a lifetime in prison. After how he'd tortured Lissa and what he did to me and Dimitri…the guy was a gigantic asshole, to put it mildly. He should be locked up for the rest of his life, living with what he did.

And one of the worst things he did….he'd convinced his own daughter, our friend Natalie, to turn into a Strigoi to break him out when he was temporarily being held at the Academy. She'd been staked by Dimitri after she'd attacked me. I still saw it as one of the worst things Victor had ever done – convincing his daughter to turn into a Strigoi.

Headmistress Kirova shot me a look. "I was getting to that, Miss Hathaway." I quieted down, and let her continue.

"I was informed of this today. I have spoken with Guardian Petrov and Guardian Belikov, and we have decided to let you both go to Court to testify at Victor Dashkov's trial."

I exchanged an astonished look with Lissa. A chance to testify against Victor Dashkov, and to give more evidence that he should be put away in prison for the rest of his life? We didn't hesitate. "I accept," Lissa said.

"As do I," I said, rising from my seat and moving to stand beside Lissa.

"Very well. Pack and be at the runway within an hour," Headmistress Kirova said. "You're dismissed."

We exited her office, and something occurred to me. "What about Christian?"

"Crap," Lissa grumbled. "We're leaving him here?"

"I'm sure we can get him to come along," Dimitri said lightly.

Lissa looked at him, and then me. This was one of the few times she'd seen him after I'd told her about him, and she was seeing him with different eyes now.

Her fear sang through the bond, and a hint of anger. I hesitantly reached out through the bond to get a feel of how she felt. She was still terrified of Victor after all this time, even though he was supposedly locked away. Was there a chance that he could walk free, despite his crimes?

I hugged her, trying to calm her down. "It's okay, Liss," I whispered. "There should be enough evidence to lock him up for a very long time. Unless the justice system is completely fucked up, I don't think it's possible for him to just be able to free. I'll always protect you, and I won't let anything happen to you."

Lissa gave me a very wane smile. She was still afraid, and even more scared now that she wondered if there was a possibility of him walking free. "I know. Let's pack up for Court now."

"I'll just meet you at the runway," I said, heading off for my own dorm.

"I'll talk to her, and see if I can get Christian to come," Dimitri said, turning back in the direction we'd come from. "Besides, he was attacked that night too."

* * *

I packed in half an hour and was waiting at the runway before Lissa got there.

Dimitri walked over to me. I wasn't surprised to see that he was wearing his duster (which always reminded me of a cowboy). "I got Kirova to let Christian go with us."

"That should make Lissa happy," I murmured half to myself.

"And Eddie's coming because…well, because of the field experience," Dimitri added. "And apparently Adrian wormed his way in too." His voice was a tad sour on his last sentence, which made me laugh.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure he won't hit on me," I teased. "I'll just slug him in the eye if he tries."

Dimitri smiled at me, and kissed my forehead.

Lissa showed up with Christian and Eddie in tow. Adrian was behind them, and I rolled my eyes when I saw him light up a cigarette.

Alberta was also behind them, which surprised me.

"Guardian Petrov is coming with us," Dimitri told me, following my eyes. "I won't be enough to watch over you guys, so Kirova decided to have her come with us."

After ten more minutes of waiting on the runway, we boarded one of the Academy's private jets. We were soon in the air – and headed for Court.

* * *

**Author's note**: So I'm sort of writing within Shadow Kiss's time frame now...so there'll definitely be some events from Shadow Kiss in the next few chapters. In the flashback, it's basically the part in Shadow Kiss where Rose gets mad she didn't get assigned to Lissa (I tried to make it as close as possible). Enjoy reading :)


	19. Chapter 19 Trial

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Vampire Academy.

* * *

Ch. 19 Trial

We were in the air for about three hours and then we landed at Court.

Several guardians were waiting for us. They were dressed in the formal guardian outfit of black and white formal clothes. I sighed to myself. I hadn't thought I would need to be so dressed up. We looked a bit out of place, all being in jeans and sneakers.

"We're here to escort you to your rooms," one of the guardians said, nodding politely to Alberta.

"Thank you," she said. "Let's go."

The Court was very large and imposing. The cover story was that it was an elite prep school, but we all knew better. It was the center of the Moroi world.

We passed several of the administration buildings, which looked very plain compared to the grand buildings that we'd seen from the outside. There were several flower gardens and fountains. Flowers bloomed abundantly, now that it was spring.

We entered a section that must be Court housing. Looking off to the side, I saw buildings that looked like little town houses I'd seen before.

"That's housing for permanent residents," Adrian explained.

I raised my eyebrow at him. "Then where do you live?"

"On the other side of Court….but I don't really want to see my parents right now," he said, looking a little uncomfortable.

The guardian that had spoken to Alberta earlier stopped in front of a door. "Princess Vasilisa, Miss Hathaway, you'll be sharing this room."

"I thought there were more rooms than this," Lissa said in surprise.

"Usually there's plenty of room, but royals are returning to Court at this time of year so you need to double up," the guardian said.

"Thanks," Lissa murmured as she walked past him, me following.

"And Christian Ozera and Mr. Castile will be over here," I barely heard the guardian say as we entered the room.

It was huge, and bigger than my dorm room and Lissa's put together. There was huge king-sized bed in the center of the room with a feather duvet and lots of plump pillows. The carpet under my feet was a light beige color and felt very soft, and several rugs covered it off to the side. French doors opened out into a balcony, which offered a view of one of the numerous gardens and pathways.

"Liss, this place is huge," I said, my mouth dropping open. I left my suitcase at the door and took off my shoes.

The living room area had a nice leather couch, with a flat-screen TV. The coffee table had a tray of assorted snacks (which were all junk food). The walls were plain, but that was okay since it went well with the other decorations.

"Check out the bathroom," Lissa called to me.

I hurried over and my eyes almost bugged out. A long counter ran along one side, with a mirror the same length. The floor under our feet was black marble, decorated with little silver flecks. There was a Jacuzzi tub at the far end that could comfortably seat three people.

"Well, we have luxury accommodations at least," I mused.

"When…when do you think the trial will be?" Lissa asked, her voice trembling as she spoke. I hated her seeing so vulnerable. It brought back memories from two years ago, when we'd run away, and right before she'd discovered that she controlled the element spirit.

I put my arm around her and tried to cheer her up. "Probably soon. Tomorrow or next two days maybe. Since we'll probably be stuck for awhile, why don't we explore Court? I bet we're getting a sneak preview of what it's like before everyone else."

Lissa gave me a small smile, and the dark feelings running through her lessened a little. "I've been here before. It's not all that fun, really."

"No cool parties?"

"Not unless you like to be with royals," she replied.

There was a knock on the door, and we both ran to answer it.

Alberta stood there. "Hello, Rose, Vasilisa."

"Guardian Petrov," we both said.

"Do you have a minute? I just received details about the trial."

"Come in," Lissa said, making room for her to enter our room. She shut the door as Alberta came in.

"The trial will be tomorrow, immediately after lunch. We're not sure how long it's going to take, so we're going to be here for at least five days. And it's recommended you girls both dress formally for the trial."

Lissa had probably packed plenty of formalwear for Court. Me on the other hand…the few formalwear I had wasn't exactly appropriate for a trial.

Seeing the look on my face, Alberta laughed, her face softening. "I'll send someone over with some clothes for you later."

"Thanks, Guardian Petrov," I said politely as she stood up to leave.

"Spend the rest of the day as you like. Vasilisa, the Queen requested you to be at dinner tonight, in the Grand Dining Hall."

She left after that, and I exchanged a look with Lissa.

* * *

We passed our first day quietly, exploring Court and looking around in some of the buildings.

Lissa dressed up early that night to dine with the royals of the Moroi world.

How do I look? she asked without looking up.

I looked her over. She was in a silky violet dress with straps, with a skirt that was only a few inches past her knees. Amethysts glittered in the straps on her shoulders, and she wore a white mini cardigan over it. Her platinum hair was up in a loose bun.

"I'd say you should take out the bun and leave your hair down," I said.

She shook her head at me, smiling, and took out the bun. Her hair tumbled down her shoulders, and I was struck by how much she looked like a princess now.

I went to her suitcase and pulled out her jewelry box. I went back to her and left most of her air down, but braided part of her hair across the back. I finished it off with a silver hairpiece that resembled a tiara. Tiny jade pieces were interwoven within the hairpiece that matched Lissa's eyes perfectly.

"Now you're all ready," I said, smiling at her as she opened the door.

A guardian stood at the door. I knew he was one of the Queen's guardians from the red collar of his uniform. He gave Lissa a slight bow. "Princess Vasilisa, I'm here to escort you to the Queen's dinner."

"I'm ready," Lissa said coolly, as dignified as any royal. She waved to me, and stepped outside.

* * *

I had dinner in one of the cafeterias. Dimitri, Eddie, Alberta, and even Christian were all there. Adrian wasn't with us, and I guessed that he was at the dinner with the Queen, who was his great-aunt.

Christian poked glumly at his steak after the waitress gave us our orders. I had a feeling I knew why he was so glum – he hadn't been invited to the formal dinner being hosted by the Queen.

When Christian had been young, his parents had made the choice to turn into Strigoi. Moroi had the choice of turning into Strigoi if they chose – by killing someone while feeding. That's what his parents had done. They'd returned to take Christian with them.

Tasha – it made me shudder to think her name now – had been watching Christian when they'd come back for him. She'd tried to fight them, and the side of her face had been permanently scarred as a result from the fight. Guardians had come and killed Christian's parents.

None of it was Christian's fault. However, the rest of the Moroi world shunned him for having parents that had chosen to turn Strigoi, and many people thought he would too. It had only been recently that his reputation had become slightly more improved.

I told Dimitri softly, "I'm going to see into Lissa's mind now, so keep an eye on me."

He nodded to me, and I slipped into her mind.

Lissa had long since finished dinner, and now was politely mingling with the royals in the ballroom that was used for formal functions. She was speaking with Princess Ariana Szelsky, the older sister of the Szelsky lord my mother guarded.

Someone lightly touched Lissa's shoulder and she turned around.

Princess Priscilla Voda stood there. "The Queen requested to speak with you," she said.

Terror flooded through Lissa at the thought of seeing the Queen. The last time she'd seen the Queen, she had been humiliated. "Of course," she said politely. "I'm ready to see her."

Priscilla Voda led her away from the ballroom and into the throne room where Tatiana received important guests.

It was called the throne room, but there wasn't an actual throne. There was an ornate throne-like armchair, on a raised dais. The floor was a rose shade of marble, and several empty chairs stood off to the side.

Queen Tatiana Ivashkov sat in the armchair, her hands primly set in her lap. Her graying dark hair was pinned up in a bun. She wore a simple long-sleeved red dress, and a silver crown sat on her head.

Lissa and Priscilla Voda both curtsied to the Queen.

"Rise," Tatiana said, her dark eyes sweeping over the two. "Thank you, Priscilla. You are excused."

Priscilla gave her a swift nod before she exited the room. Only the Queen, Lissa, and the guardians were left in the room.

"Sit," Tatiana said coolly, leaning back in her chair.

"Your Majesty," Lissa said politely as she took a seat in one of the chairs facing Tatiana, masking the fear and uneasiness she felt at being alone with the Queen.

Tatiana didn't waste any time with pleasantries. "I have heard that you are planning on going to a college once you graduate from St. Vladimir's."

"Yes, Your Majesty," Lissa said politely.

"And I've also heard that you are not exactly…pleased with your college choices," Tatiana continued on, looking into Lissa's eyes.

Lissa hesitated before she spoke. She was talking to the supreme ruler of the Moroi, so she had to watch what she said. "Yes, I'm not thrilled with the choices. The places available are…small. I would like to go somewhere bigger and prestigious to get a better education."

For Moroi safety, they often went to small universities. It was easier to guard them in smaller environments. Lissa wanted to go to a big prestigious university – somewhere like an Ivy League college, or maybe Stanford or Berkeley, but she knew it wasn't possible.

"I would like to make you an offer, Vasilisa. You know of Lehigh University, correct?"

Lissa nodded. It was a pretty big college by Moroi standards, and was only an hour and half away from Court.

"If you would agree to come live at Court after you graduate…we would be willing to make allowances for you to attend Lehigh," Tatiana continued.

Lissa's heart filled with joy. She would get to go to a bigger university and have a chance to learn even more! It wasn't somewhere she'd always dreamed of going, but Lehigh was better than any of the other options she'd been browsing through. "Yes, I accept, Your Majesty."

Tatiana nodded. "Very well. I will begin preparations for your stay at Court. You are dismissed."

Lissa rose, curtsied, and exited the throne room. She was overjoyed, and wanted to come back and celebrate, but she still had to mingle with royals.

I slipped out of her mind and smiled.

"What's gotten you so happy?" Adrian asked.

"Ask Lissa," I said. It was her news, so she should be the one who was telling everyone else.

* * *

The next day was the day of Victor's trial.

Everyone was very tense when we gathered for breakfast. Time dragged on until after lunch, and it was time for the trial.

Alberta had sent a girl over with a white blouse and black slacks – a mini version of the guardian uniform. I pulled my hair back into a high ponytail, exposing the two tiny molnija marks on the back of my neck.

Lissa was wearing a white blouse, black pencil skirt, and heels. She'd put up her long hair into a sleek ponytail.

"It's going to be okay, Liss," I whispered to her as we walked out of the building and headed for the courtroom.

_I hope so_, she said, more to herself than me.

Dimitri walked beside us. I looked up at him, and he gave me a small smile of encouragement. It conveyed hope and love for me.

We stopped at the door of the courtroom. I took a deep breath for courage, and we entered the room.

The room wasn't packed, but it was still pretty crowded. The guardians guarding the door had to practically shove their way through the crowd.

Me, Lissa, Christian, and Dimitri were herded to where the prosecuting side would sit. Lissa's anxiety increased when there was a slight commotion at the door.

The doors opened for a second time…and Victor Dashkov walked in through the door.

I took Lissa's hand in mine to comfort her as she got even more anxious. Dark feelings seeped through her, and memories of that horrific night swept through her and into me.

I willed her to calm down and to get rid of those dark feelings. She seemed to calm down, but I got angrier than she'd gotten.

Victor walked in, his head held high, a haughty expression on his face. His hands were chained behind his back, and his ankles were shackled, the chains rattling as he moved. He seemed weaker and frailer than when we'd last seen him. When he'd forced Lissa to heal him, it had been only temporary. Without her to heal him, his disease had come back.

He briefly nodded to Lissa, but his guardians snapped at him to move and pushed him towards the front of the room.

Queen Tatiana was announced, and everyone rose to their feet. She seated herself near the judge, and everyone quickly took their seats. Once most of the trial was over, she would debate with the other princes and princesses to decide Victor's fate. I prayed that she would make the right choice and sentence Victor to a very long time - if not life imprisonment - behind bars, where he wouldn't ever be able to hurt anyone again.

The judge, a fierce-looking old Moroi woman, read out the crimes that Victor was going to trial for, and then, one by one, the witnesses were called to the stand.

Lissa, as the victim of Victor's kidnapping, went first. She was amazing up on the stand as she spoke and related what had happened to her that night.

Everyone in the room was shocked by the horrid crimes that Victor had committed, all in the name of gaining power. Lissa looked very stately, calm and beautiful as she made her statements up on the stand. She finished, and then Christian, and then Dimitri went up.

Dimitri brushed my hand as he went up. Good luck, I thought, hoping we wouldn't be caught.

I was still nervous myself about Victor. As I'd noted before, Victor had thought we were getting it on that night.

As Dimitri gave his statement, I gave a quick look out of the corner of my eye. Victor was staring straight at Dimitri with a huge smirk on his face. My heartbeat increased. Was he going to say something about us that would definitely harm his chances of returning to prison?

Victor suddenly burst out in laughter. Uh oh, I thought, glaring at him. I had a really bad feeling I knew exactly what he was laughing so hard about, and I didn't like it.

The judge glared at him. "Mr. Dashkov, please respect the decorum of this courtroom."

Victor, still smiling but apparently recovered from his laughing fit, waved his hands. "I'm sorry, Your Honor and Your Majesty, something in Guardian Belikov's testimony…just tickled my fancy, that's all. It won't happen again."

Phew, I thought, letting out a soft exhale. Lissa's anxiety increased although she really didn't have to be so anxious. I read her thoughts, and she wondered what on earth he'd been laughing about. Dimitri finished his statement, and it was my turn.

I confidently strode to the stand, my head held high. I raised my right hand and swore, "I swear to tell the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me God."

"Miss Hathaway, would you please tell us what happened the night that Princess Dragomir was kidnapped by Mr. Dashkov?"

"That night, I was kicked out of a dance," I began without any further introductions, "and I was confined to my dorm. I was using the bond to check on Lissa. She was with Christian, but then he was attacked by some unfamiliar guardians. She was then gagged and bound, and taken away. I realized something was wrong, but something forced me out of her mind."

I paused to take a breath. Now was where my "editing" would begin. I couldn't tell anyone about the lust spell that Victor had placed on me and Dimitri to keep us busy while he kidnapped Lissa. I prayed that Victor wouldn't make any leading comments and kept going.

"I felt an urge to become savage, and attack my mentor, Guardian Belikov. I found him in his room, and attacked him. He fought back, and restrained me. By the time he'd taken away the necklace that had the compulsion charm in it, I guess a lot of time had passed. We then had to set out to find Lissa – I mean Vasilisa – immediately or we wouldn't be able to find her, even with the bond."

The judge sent me off the stand and then called up Victor.

He didn't even try to deny his crimes or plead guilty. He didn't look angry or outraged as he answered the lawyer's and judge's questions. He sat looking like everything was friends and was just hanging out. I felt uneasy watching him. The judge was exasperated with his responses, and asked, "Can you say everyone made their own choices when you used them to further your own means? Guardian Belikov and Miss Hathaway had no say in what you made them do."

Victor chuckled, looking extremely amused. "Well, that's a matter of opinion. I honestly don't think they minded. But if you have the time after this case, Your Honor, you might want to consider trying a statutory rape case."

I froze, unable to look at anyone else. He'd actually done it. He'd actually outed me and Dimitri.

But everyone was muttering to themselves and giving him extremely disgusted and appalled looks. I realized he was just toying with us – he hadn't truly expected anyone to believe him.

The judge scolded him for getting off track, and most of the trial wrapped up after that. Queen Tatiana met with the other royals to deliver the verdict and determine Victor's fate.

"She can't really set him free," I whispered to Lissa. "There's too much evidence against him."

"But she might want to avoid the scandal of a royal imprisonment," Dimitri pointed out. "It will be one of the most talked about news."

Eventually the Queen and the royals returned to the courtroom. They'd decided to sentence Victor to life in prison, with no bail or parole. His crimes outweighed everything else. He would be taken to another prison – not like the one at Court.

The trial was ended, and the Queen and the royals exited. Victor was led away, but as he left, he had a small knowing smirk o his face, like he knew something we didn't.

I looked up at Dimitri, to see love and relief reflected in his eyes. We were finally safe.

* * *

Definitely going to include more events from Shadow Kiss before I finish this fanfic :) Reviews greatly appreciated!


	20. Chapter 20 Party time!

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Vampire Academy.

* * *

Ch. 20 Party Time!

Everyone was practically screaming with joy once Victor's trial had ended. The man who had caused so much trouble and grief to everyone – well, mostly everyone, since we hadn't met Adrian when all this drama went down – was now going to be sitting in prison. For the rest of his life. Dimitri gave me a quick hug before he moved aside to speak with Alberta. Lissa and Christian kissed passionately, and I wondered if I had to find a hose and spray it all over them to get them to stop.

"Let's celebrate," Adrian suggested, coming over and hugging me.

I shot a look at him and gently stepped away from him. "And just how would you suggest that? By buying an entire bar of drinks and getting everyone here drunk?"

He burst out laughing as we walked out of the courtroom and out into one of the gardens. "Not a bad idea, little dhampir. I'll just buy some drinks-"

"Hello, everyone's still _under_ 18, except for you," I pointed out. "Even I'm still under 18, and my birthday's a few weeks away."

Adrian shrugged, seemingly unaffected, and put his hands into his pockets. "True…"

"So, how are we going to celebrate?" Lissa asked, finally breaking away from her insanely long kiss with Christian, and walking over to us.

"Do I need to hose you down?" I said to Christian as he approached me and Adrian.

He made a face at me and stood closer to Lissa. "At least we're on fire, unlike you, forever alone."

Haha. Very funny. "Please, I have plenty of guys falling over for me, Sparky. You just wish you were as hot as me, since your fire isn't doing anything for you."

"If you're going to celebrate, make it something legal," Dimitri called to us. "I'd hate to have to call in the authorities and bust your alcohol party."

"We're not going to have an alcohol party," I called to him. "But not a bad idea!"

Even from here, I could see him rolling his eyes at me. "Like anyone would sell to underage minors?"

He had a point, I mused to myself.

"Let's go to a spa!" Lissa exclaimed, her green eyes bright with excitement. "We could get beautified and I know an amazing manicurist-"

"A _spa_? No, I refuse to go to a spa," Christian protested. "That works great if you're a girl, but I prefer to do something more manly."

"Like what? Get your toenails painted?" I teased him.

"Not in a billion years," Christian grumbled, glaring at me. "Liss, I refuse to go into a spa with you."

Lissa turned her big green eyes on him. "Please, Christian? I'll do anything you want afterwards."

"Tempting," he said, and he leaned in for a kiss.

I groaned and covered my eyes while blocking Lissa out of my head. "_Ew_, Liss! PDA alert! I don't want to see you making out with Christian!" Lissa ignored me and kept kissing him, _hard_. Ugh.

Eddie shook his head, not looking any more pleased than me.

"Eddie, go find a hose to spray them with," I said a bit more loudly than necessary.

At that, Lissa and Christian quickly broke apart. "Sorry," Lissa said, a slight blush spreading over her pale features. "Fine. If we're not going to a spa, where should we go to celebrate?"

Adrian coughed very loudly. "Well…I know this amazing exclusive place where we could swim and get massages. And we could go to a club and dance afterwards."

"Perfect," Lissa decided. "Let's go!"

Here, Dimitri said, "Do you need a chaperone for that?"

"No, Belikov," Adrian grumbled, glaring at him. I looked between them. Jealousy issues?

Dimitri raised his eyebrow at Adrian, but let it go. "Fine. Better be back by ten."

"That's not enough time," Adrian grumbled, pointing towards the horizon. There was a faint hint of light.

"If you don't abide by the rules, you're not going anywhere," Dimitri evenly returned.

We arranged to meet in front of Adrian's home in half an hour, and left to get ready.

* * *

I yawned once I was back in guest housing. Lissa looked over at me in surprise.

"You didn't seem tired at all earlier," she said to me.

I shrugged and made no further comment as I searched through my suitcase for something to wear to the pool and then the club.

I picked out a white bikini that would enhance my tanned skin, and pulled out a red halter top, black skirt, and heels to wear to the club.

Lissa raised her eyebrows at me. "I thought you'd want to go all out and look sexy for Dimitri," she teased.

I focused on changing out of my formal clothes and into my bikini before I replied. "He's not even coming."

"Hey, you never know," Lissa lightly retorted as she stuffed her club clothes into a bag. "He might decide to come along and 'supervise' when he's really trying to check you out."

I rolled my eyes, and we headed for Adrian's house.

* * *

We ran into Alberta along the way, who informed us that we were leaving Court tomorrow afternoon. We thanked her for the information, and continued on to Adrian's house, where Christian, Eddie, and Adrian were all waiting for us.

Adrian led us to a smaller building off the main Court buildings that was apparently exclusively for rich and important Moroi. "One of the many perks of being rich, and the Queen's grand-nephew," he said as he led us.

Although I was "with" Dimitri, I had to admit, he did look pretty hot in just his swimming trunks…

Snap out of it, I scolded myself.

We stepped through a pair of French doors, and found ourselves in a spacious indoor pool, with gleaming white marble everywhere. The large windows allowed sunlight to filter into the pool without hurting the Moroi. Moroi teens and young adults were everywhere, but from the looks of their swimwear, I guessed that they were influential or royal Moroi. An exclusive indoor pool indeed.

The door had just shut behind us when there was a knock on the door, and Lissa opened it.

My mouth nearly dropped. Dimitri! Although I was very happy to see him, I couldn't help but wonder why he'd come to see a bunch of teens go swimming with elite Moroi.

He was dressed in a pair of swimming trunks, sandals, and a gray hoodie clothed his upper body, which I secretly wished he would take off. Maybe if I was very lucky…

Lissa nudged me, a sparkling glint in her jade eyes. _My prediction came true!_

I put on a smile. "Guardian Belikov. Why are you here with us?"

"There does need to be an adult supervisor at a 'party' once you let it slip in front of us you were having one," Dimitri said lightly to me.

_He's not really telling the whole truth_, Lissa said. _Of course, I don't know what his real motive is._

I gave her a look of exasperation, and tore off my towel. I could feel Dimitri's eyes locked on me as I sashayed towards the pool. "Last one to jump into the pool is a rotten egg!"

Everyone else burst into a flurry of movement to get into the pool and not be a rotten egg. I got in first after performing a cannonball off the diving board.

It turned out that Adrian was the "rotten egg."

"We should come up with punishment for him," Christian said, shooting a slight glare at Adrian as he finally jumped into the pool effortlessly and surfaced near us. "He is the last one in."

"Make him do handstands across the pool," Lissa suggested teasingly as Christian wrapped his arms around her shoulder.

"Or should we get him to skinny dip?" I asked, shaking my head and letting droplets fly everywhere.

"I have an amazingly sexy body, but I refuse to skinny dip!" Adrian protested. "Although I'm sure all the ladies would be checking me out…"

"No, you have to handstand your way across the pool," I decided. "If you don't, you have to pay everyone ten bucks!"

"I don't have forty bucks on me right now," he protested as I put my hands on his back and shoved him.

I smacked his shoulder. "Now hurry up and handstand! And try not to get run over by other swimmers."

Adrian groaned loudly, and started to handstand his way across the pool.

I looked up towards the entrance we'd come in through. Dimitri was stretched out on a chaise lounge, reading a Western novel. As though he could sense my gaze, he looked down at me. He wore his stoic guardian face, but I could tell that he was amused.

I challenged my other friends to some crazy stunts – like swimming sideways across the pool and back, who could jump in and make the biggest splash, etc. I lost the biggest splash contest – to _Lissa_, of all people.

We stayed in the pool for about two hours and left. Plenty of people still lingered at the pool.

After taking a quick shower in the showers located near the pool, we all changed into our club outfits. Dimitri only changed into slacks and dress shoes while keeping his hoodie on.

We went to a bar that doubled as a dance club. Dimitri shook his head in disapproval when he saw our location choice. "Please don't tell me I have to carry out a bunch of drunk teenagers by the time it's curfew."

"You wouldn't catch me drinking," Eddie said firmly, shaking his head as he watched Adrian talk to the bouncer. The bouncer nodded and let us in. Loud music blasted from speakers, making it hard to be heard, but I heard Eddie's last words as we dhampirs sat down at a table. "Not while I'm watching over them."

Dimitri patted his shoulder. "Nice to know that someone here won't lose their heads."

"Hey! Are you saying I'm going to lose my head?" I asked, tugging crossly at my halter top. It had a lower neckline than I'd expected, so I had to constantly tug it up when no one was looking so that it wouldn't slip.

"You never know," Dimitri said. "Even if the Moroi drink until they've gone silly, try not to follow their example. If you drink too much, you'll lose track of them and then if something happens-"

"Comrade, we're at Court," I whispered, cutting him off and gesturing towards a waitress. "Nothing bad will happen."

I ordered a glass of champagne and downed it in two gulps after the waitress brought it to me. I hadn't even gotten carded. I guess this was why Adrian had chosen this bar- a place where no matter how underage you truly were, you wouldn't get carded.

"You're going to no longer have a liver if you keep drinking," Dimitri noted.

"It was only one champagne Comrade! It's not like I drink that often to begin with!" I complained, although the world had started to tilt a little. "Besides look at what the others are up to." I pointed in the vague direction of where I'd last seen the others.

Dimitri looked over in the direction I was pointing (although it was hard to see in the dark) and raised his eyebrows. He muttered a swear word in Russian.

Lissa had downed what appeared to be two glasses of pina colada, and was laughing hysterically at something Christian had said to her. The buzz from her drinks was coming really strongly through the bond and I winced. Those particular drinks had been stronger than the usual stuff, and I carefully blocked the bond.

Adrian...When I saw the bottles littered around him, I groaned. He'd downed three _bottles_ of vodka, champagne, and some types of beer. He was on his fourth bottle (of champagne) and I stumbled off my stool.

"Be right back," I said to Dimitri, but my voice came out a little slurred and the world was slowly spinning around me. Damnit. I was drunk, and it had only been one glass of champagne.

"Be careful," Dimitri said, grabbing me before I toppled off my stool. "I'll go get him instead of you."

"He won't listen to you," I complained.

"Fine," Dimitri grumbled, helping me off my stool. "Come right back."

I stumbled through the crowd and finally made my way to Adrian. He was halfway through his bottle.

"Stop drinking so much," I said, trying to pull on him with little effect.

"Hey little dhampir," he said, his voice coming out way more slurred than mine. His eyes were already semi-bloodshot. Great. If he kept this up, he was going to be passed out and drunk if he finished this bottle. "This stuff is amazing, little dhampir. You should try some."

"Stop trying to drink yourself to death!" I said, pulling on his arm a second time. He still wouldn't budge.

Eddie made his way over to me, with a glass of water in his hand. "Dimitri said to send this with you." I took the bottle away from Adrian, which wasn't that hard, and then shoved the glass of water into his hand. "Drink that instead."

Adrian groaned and lifted the glass to his lips. His bloodshot eyes closed as he sipped, and when he opened them, they were the bright emerald green they normally were. "T-thanks, little dhampir," he said, his words coming out somewhat less slurred. "But can I at least finish the bottle?"

"_No_!" I said in unison with Eddie.

Lissa and Christian got even more drunk in the next half hour we spent there. The rest of us danced, and Lissa and Christian were too busy drinking and drunkenly kissing each other. As predicted, Dimitri had to practically carry Christian out the door. Me and Adrian carried Lissa.

"I don't want to sleep in our room tonight," I groaned as we finally made our way to guest housing. "It's going to be impossible to sleep with Lissa so drunk."

"I'm not sleeping with Christian either!" Eddie protested as we stopped in front of the room I shared with Lissa.

"Just put them in the same room," Adrian said at last, regarding the couple who looked like they were asleep.

"I want Christian," Lissa drunkenly slurred, putting her arms out.

I unlocked the door. "Let's hope they don't throw up."

While Adrian put Lissa and Christian in the bed, I quickly got some water for them both and left the glasses on the nightstand.

"Let's get out of here before they start doing rated-R stuff," I whispered to my friends. "God knows what they will do when they wake up and they're drunk."

With that, we tiptoed out of the room and shut the door behind us.

* * *

Haha a filler chapter (sort of). Probably wrapping up this story in the next few chapters, so enjoy!


	21. Chapter 21 Return of Darkness

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Vampire Academy.

* * *

Ch. 21 Return of Darkness

Adrian said his good-nights to us, and Eddie quickly retreated to his own room immediately after Adrian departed guest housing to go home.

Then it suddenly hit me – I had nowhere to sleep for the night. Uh oh. I really didn't want to knock on Eddie's door and ask to room with him…that was just going to be awkward, even though we were friends.

"I don't want to sleep out on the floor," I grumbled to myself. What a night it was going to be – sleeping outside in the halls of the guest housing…

Dimitri laughed. "You know, you do have another option."

"Alberta?" I asked, incredulous. The thought of knocking on her door and asking if I could room with her because a drunken Lissa and Christian had taken over my room was laughable.

"No, silly Roza," Dimitri whispered, stepping closer to whisper in my ear. "Have you forgotten about me?"

"Oh," was all I could say. I could room with Dimitri…

"But try to behave yourself," I said to him, reaching up and tracing his jawline and down to his neck.

He laughed huskily. "No promises."

And with that, he picked me up in his arms, kissed me, and carried me to his room.

I was still in my party clothes, and I didn't want to sleep in such skimpy clothes.

"Why didn't I grab my own things while I was in my room?" I lamented, sitting on Dimitri's bed with a thump. It was a huge king-sized bed, which would be perfect for us when we slept…

"Is Lissa awake?" he asked me.

I closed my eyes and reached out through the bond.

I recoiled instantly. She was definitely awake now (with a terrible headache) – and making out passionately with Christian.

He unbuttoned her ruffled blouse, and threw it on the ground, still passionately kissing her as he pressed her against the bed-

Grimacing, I immediately pulled out of her mind and shoved my mental barriers into place to keep from slipping into her mind. The Court was safe enough that I could go without the bond, at least for now. "Uh…you could say she's awake," I muttered.

Dimitri raised his eyebrows at me. "And…?"

"I'm pretty sure she wouldn't want to be disturbed right now. Let's just leave it at that," I said, shuddering. Ugh. This was _not_ a perk of sharing a psychic bond with your best friend – being stuck in her head while she was making out (and maybe getting it on) with her boyfriend. Ewwww.

Dimitri tossed me one of his shirts. It was a white oversized shirt, and as I caught it, I caught a brief hint of his scent. "Sleep in that."

I considered it, and shrugged. He'd seen me in fewer clothes than this, so it wasn't anything bad…

I went into the bathroom to change, and came out in his shirt.

He finished getting ready for bed, and we got into the huge bed together.

I reached up to kiss him, but he kissed me back for a moment before he pulled away.

"What are you doing?" I protested, trying to pull him a bit closer.

"You said to behave," Dimitri teased me.

I crossed my arms over m chest, and tried not to pout. "Yeah, but since when was kissing not behaving?"

"True," Dimitri agreed, "but when we kiss…it leads me to want to not behave, Roza."

I leaned up, and before he could react, kissed his mouth very quickly. I lay back down on the bed, my heart pounding.

"You're just asking for me not to behave, aren't you," Dimitri murmured, scooting closer to me. He pressed his lips to mine, and I kissed him back, putting my arms around his neck and pulling him closer. I drifted off into sleep with his arms tight around me.

* * *

Things haven't been going well in the week we've returned from Court.

Right now, I was with Christian, and we were watching Lissa and Adrian experiment with their spirit powers in a classroom during lunch. I looked out towards the window, wishing that they could hurry up and finish so we could go outside.

"Concentrate," Adrian said to her. "Look at me, and focus until you can see my aura."

She nodded, and I could feel her mood shoot up as she used her spirit powers. Using her magic made her happy, even though in the long run it could lead to insanity.

Through her eyes, I could sense her intense focus. Finally, she saw a slight shimmer of colors around Adrian, and tried to focus even harder. She saw a combination of different colors – teal, blue, green. And Adrian's aura in particular was ringed with gold. Since it was unique to them both, they both thought that an aura marked with gold light was a sure sign of a spirit user.

"I can finally see your aura without trying too hard," she murmured.

Adrian smiled briefly. "Of course. It took me years to be able to actually see an aura. I didn't know what it was for a long time."

"Should we move on to dream walking?" she asked. She still couldn't walk in people's dreams, no matter how many times she tried.

Adrian frowned. "Maybe you should teach me more about healing, Miss Healer. I'm getting a little burned out from showing you how to see auras."

Lissa groaned. "But there's nothing to heal around here."

"Did you forget about this?" I interrupted, showing my arm to them. A bandage was wrapped around my elbow, courtesy of me practically tripping in a puddle at Court. The cut extended from my elbow up to my wrist. Although it had bled a lot at first, once I'd gotten a bandage, it had been fine. Lissa had wanted to heal me, but I didn't want her to use spirit on me and encourage the deterioration of her mind.

Lissa didn't hesitate. She strode over to me, and unwrapped the bandage, exposing the angry-looking cut. She put her hands on my elbow and concentrated. A warm golden feeling coursed through her, and she felt more happiness at using spirit. It felt like all the wonderful and beautiful things that made you want to live was coursing through her. My own mood dropped though, and I had no idea why.

When she let go, the cut was completely healed. There wasn't even a scar, and my skin was completely unmarked.

To my surprise, Adrian hadn't exactly been paying attention. His eyes were wide as he looked from me to Lissa, but he made no comment.

"Did you get that?" Lissa asked, turning back to him.

"Uh…yeah, I did. Except now I don't have anyone or anything to heal!" Adrian grumbled, throwing his hands up in exasperation. He looked at me, his green eyes dark with concern. "And besides…I don't think we should keep on using spirit today."

"Why not?" Lissa asked, a tad petulantly. "I want to learn more-"

"Look at her, Lissa."

Lissa turned her head to look at me. She tilted her head to the side. "I don't see anything different about Rose…"

"Damn it, I meant her aura!"

Lissa looked at me. My mood went even darker as her gaze fell on me. "Rose! Your aura's…"

"What's wrong with it?" I asked, trying to sound lighthearted.

"Your aura's completely dark! What's going on?"

"Nothing," I said. In truth, I had no idea what was going on.

Adrian crossed his arms over his chest. "Your aura has never looked this dark before, Rose." I looked at him, taken aback by his words, and how he called me Rose instead of "little dhampir."

Christian looked from Lissa to Adrian. "I have no idea what's going on here."

"If you had spirit…" Adrian said, without taking his eyes off me.

"Rose's aura looks terrible," Lissa added, standing beside him.

My mood felt like it had been building, and suddenly I exploded. "Why are you talking about me like I'm not even fucking here?"

"Rose!" Lissa protested. "We're trying to think of a way to help you!"

"Yeah? Maybe for starters, you shouldn't go around making out with Christian at night," I said bitchily. Lissa's face was stunned, and she looked like I'd slapped her.

Shock and a bit of anger radiated through the bond. _Rose, what's the matter with you?_

I felt a teeny bit bad at upsetting her. That rational side of me was taken over by the dark side that wanted to keep raging at how unfair my life was. "In my dreams it carries over! I don't want to wake up and find myself dreaming about making out with Christian! Do you know how easy your life is? You don't have to spend your life constantly watching and waiting for Strigoi who might get the drop on you!"

"Rose!" Christian shouted, his voice hard. His pale blue eyes were like icy fire, which uncomfortably reminded me of his crazy aunt. "Don't talk to Lissa like that."

"It's the truth," I rambled on. "She never has to worry about being killed in the heat of combat for her friends. If you think being a guardian is all a picnic-"

Adrian walked over to me, and locked his eyes with mine. My mind went blank for a moment as I stared at him.

"Rose, please calm down," he said in a soothing voice. "Just calm down for a moment, and think."

I suddenly felt the need to be calm. Rambling on like this…why would I want to keep on doing it? I should just calm down and rest. I sat down at one of the desks.

Lissa looked at Adrian worriedly. He shook his head at her, warning her to be quiet and not say a word.

Suddenly, I realized why I was behaving so calmly and not being…whatever I was. He'd just used his compulsion on me!

I was outraged, and sprang to my feet. My calmness vanished, and the darkness reared its ugly head, demanding to be let out. "Why the fuck did you just use your compulsion on me?" I shrieked.

"I wouldn't have done it if I hadn't thought there was another way to calm you down," Adrian said pleadingly. "Please, Rose. Listen to us." I didn't want to listen to him, and be calm.

Lissa looked at Christian. Although I was lost in the darkness, I could sense fear and her wanting to help me through the bond. "We need back-up. Now."

"Who am I supposed to get?" Christian demanded, at a lost. "No one around here can compel her to remain calm!"

"Get Dimitri!"

Christian took off from the classroom.

I seethed with fury, but the tiny rational part of me said to try to calm down and be reasonable. I tried to inhale and exhale, but didn't feel any calmer.

Christian returned with Dimitri in tow. "What's going on?" he asked, confused.

"It's Rose…" Christian said, pointing at me.

Dimitri took me in, and his eyes widened when he saw me. "What happened to her?"

"I don't completely understand," Adrian said, "but I think that she's been absorbing the darkness from Lissa's use of spirit. That's why Lissa is now fine, but now Rose…isn't. Putting it mildly."

"Maybe if you stopped using spirit, I wouldn't be like this!" I shouted at Lissa.

"Rose!" Dimitri shouted, standing in front of me and putting his hands on my shoulders. He looked me in the eye. "Rose, please. Calm down. It's me."

The darkness didn't want to leave. It demanded to stay, to take all of me with it. The darkness wanted me to succumb to it, and make it grow. I was terrified, and I wanted it to go.

"Rose…" Dimitri whispered. His voice was like velvet, soft against my skin.

Slowly, the darkness retreated from my mind. With the biggest effort I'd ever made, I forced the darkness away and out of me. When it was gone, I finally untensed – and nearly fell.

Dimitri caught me before I hit the ground and picked me up, bridal style. "Do we need to send her to Dr. Olendzki?"

"There's nothing the doctor can do," Lissa said softly, looking at me with pain in her eyes. "It's related to her mind. I don't know if we can heal it with spirit."

Although I'd forced the darkness out of my mind, I could feel it lurking in the corners, ready to spring. If I gave in, there was no saying what would happen once my darkness came back.

"What do we do?" I whispered. I didn't want to be crazy. I didn't want to take all the darkness from Lissa and be turned crazy, even though it was better I suffered it rather than Lissa.

"Maybe we could try to heal it with spirit," Adrian suggested tentatively. "In the meantime, we'll do a little research on it…"

"There's nothing to be looked up about it though," I reminded him. "Even all those old stories about St. Vladimir…we don't know fact from fiction."

"We'll try, at least," Adrian said firmly. "And maybe I should ask my great-aunt if she could start searching for more spirit users."

"I'll heal you, Rose," Lissa said, stepping over to me, palm facing out.

"But…your dark moods…"

Lissa sighed and brushed that aside. "You're more important, Rose. If my moods keep leaking into you…well, we need to try to heal you."

"It might not be permanent…but for now, it'll have to do," Adrian added.

I nodded.

Lissa placed her hands on either side of my face, and I closed my eyes.

I felt that warm golden feeling I had earlier, and this time, it made me happy too instead of my mood going down. The magic felt sweet and brilliant, like happiness in concrete form. If it had a color, I would say it was golden and made up of all the colors in the world. Lissa summoned spirit from deep within herself, and sent it into me. Although it made her happy, she was growing weaker from using it on me.

Her magic flowed through me, crowding out all the darkness rage I'd felt earlier and banishing it. I don't know if it was completely gone, but in that moment, it felt like it had never been there to begin with. My mind felt as clear as before the darkness had taken over.

"It worked," Adrian said in surprise. "But like I said…I don't know how long that'll last."

"We definitely need to research this," Lissa said, slumping into a chair. Christian rushed over to her at the same time I did.

"Are you okay?" I asked, looking at her with fear.

She smiled a little weakly at me and closed her eyes for a moment before she opened them again. Christian knelt by her side, holding her hand as he watched her worriedly. "I'm a bit tired, but nothing serious. Don't worry, Rose."


	22. Chapter 22 Graduation Night

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Vampire Academy.

* * *

Ch. 22 Graduation Night

Lissa walked alongside me as we headed towards the fields. "I know you'll do well on your tests," she said. A slight gust of wind blew her blond hair into her face but she brushed it away. It was now midnight, prime time for the Moroi. With a big full moon overhead, it would be easy to see.

"Thanks, Liss," I said to her, adjusting the wooden stake I wore at my hip.

"I'm glad you'll be my guardian when we graduate tonight," she said lightly, wrapping her cardigan a little tighter around herself.

"Hopefully. Even though I'm supposed to be your guardian, we're not absolutely sure," I reminded her with a sigh.

"If Her Majesty won't accept you, I'll make her," Lissa said fiercely.

I picked up her tone without having to read her mind. She was willing to use compulsion to have the Queen accept me, if it came to that. "No, Liss. I'm sure it'll be fine." Actually I wasn't sure, but I didn't want her to worry. That was something I had to worry about, not her.

Today was graduation – and the day of our last tests to prove ourselves worthy of being guardians. After today, we would be full-fledged guardians, ready to protect the Moroi. Most of us graduating guardians would head for Court and wait to receive our assignments. For me, I already knew who I would guard.

I looked up into the stands of roaring people…and gasped. It couldn't be. I blinked, trying to make sure it wasn't an illusion. Nope, it wasn't an illusion

"What's wrong?" Lissa asked, craning her neck to look at the stands.

"My mom's here!" There she was, the famous Janine Hathaway. I hadn't seen her since she'd returned to guard Lord Szelsky after the winter holidays. She hadn't even told me she was coming. I was stunned to think that she would come to my graduation, having already written her off as not going to come. I felt guilty now, and was glad I hadn't said anything.

Lissa laughed. "Did you think your own mom wouldn't come to your tests? She might not be the best mother, but that's just cruel if she didn't come."

We arrived where all the other novices and guardians were gathered. Lissa gave me a hug. "Good luck," she whispered, and hurried off in the direction of the stands.

Last month, Dimitri had requested to be reassigned – to someone at Court, hopefully. We'd both been a little sad, but I knew that in the long run, it would enable us to be together. Lissa would also be safer this way, with two guardians who weren't in love with each other. If Dimitri had stayed with her, he wouldn't have been able to protect her properly. He'd once told me that he would throw himself in front of me, not Lissa, to protect me. Dimitri's request was still being processed, and we were hoping for the best.

I paced worriedly in the tent. Although I knew I was one of the top novices in the class…what if I failed?

Someone put their hand on my shoulder, and I jumped, since that was how tense I was. I turned around to see Dimitri. "You look worried," he commented, giving my hand a brief squeeze. "What's on your mind?"

I hesitated but let it out. "It's just…I hope I'll pass the tests and become a guardian."

"Don't worry," he whispered to me. "You'll do fine as long as you keep your head clear. And after the tests today…"

I smiled up at him. "I know. And with such a badass god as my personal mentor, how could I possibly fail?" Still, these tests were hard. If a novice didn't take them seriously, she could fail and not become a guardian. I had no intention of failing these tests.

Then, my name was called.

"Rosemarie Hathaway!"

I stepped out onto the field, ready to pass the tests and become a guardian.

* * *

The tests were practically all a blur. I just kept fighting, left and right, at anyone that was completely dressed in all black.

One of the tests involved going through a maze…with very shaking boards under our feet. Sure, there was a safety net, but we novices were told to regard it as fifty feet – a distance that would kill us. I'd successfully "staked" all of the five "Strigoi" who attacked me. In reality, they were just guardians playacting as Strigoi, but they were the best of the best, all of them famous guardians who guarded top Moroi royals.

When I finally stopped fighting, all the sounds I'd been blocking out rushed in. The audience in the bleachers was cheering me. Lissa and my mom looked like they were cheering the loudest, screaming and clapping like crazy.

Alberta led me off the field, and led me over to a bench. She handed me a bottle of water and a towel. "Drink," she ordered. "Two more tests and then you can go get ready for the graduation ceremony." She then disappeared.

Lissa and my mom then appeared. I was a bit disappointed Dimitri couldn't come over, but I spotted him near the other guardians. He caught my eye and smiled. Pride and happiness sparkled in his eyes.

I hid my surprise at my mom coming over to see me, and pasted on a smile. "You passed with flying colors!" Lissa said, her eyes bright with excitement. "And we'll be graduating tonight!"

"You did very well on your tests," my mom said. It was a very high compliment coming from her, considering how she used to see me as a rude, rebellious daughter. Happiness shone in her eyes.

"Thanks," I said to them both. I then said to Mom, "I didn't think you would be coming to graduation."

Mom laughed. "Of course I was going to come. I couldn't miss your graduation! And besides, one of Lord Szelsky's nieces is graduating tonight, so he came for that."

I smiled. She extended her hand to me, and surprised, I opened my hands. A red velvet bag fell into my hand.

"A graduation present. Open it later."

"Thanks," I said, even more surprised. The last time she'd given me a gift, it was a nazar – and I deeply suspected that my unknown Moroi father had given it to her, which made it more meaningful although I didn't know who he was.

We watched the last two tests together, and Alberta announced the end of the tests. She also announced graduation at five-thirty. The Moroi and the dhampirs would have separate ceremonies, since the dhampirs would also be receiving their promise marks tonight.

I said my goodbyes to Mom and Lissa, promising to see them a little later at the post-graduation party. I then headed off to my room to shower and change.

* * *

After taking a very long, hot shower that relaxed my muscles and got the grime off me, I changed into appropriate graduation clothes. I wore a simple lacy white blouse with a black pencil skirt and heels. I decided to do nothing with my long hair except tie it up into a loose bun.

I then remembered Mom's graduation present. I quickly unwrapped it, and the wrapping fell away to reveal a silver necklace. It was made of intricately braided silver, with a tiny ruby hanging from it. I let out a low whistle. That was a pretty pricey gift of Mom to give me, but it was very pretty. I clasped the necklace around my neck and examined myself in the mirror. It actually complimented the rest of my graduation outfit.

I hurried out of my dorm and onto the Academy grounds, towards the large imposing gym where I'd had my practice sessions with Dimitri.

I was among the last to arrive, and quickly took a seat beside Eddie.

"Hey," I whispered as I sat down.

"You're late," he muttered, a rare amused glint in his hazel eyes.

The ceremony started. As the graduates were called up, their scores were read out, and they sat in front of the guardian who would give us the tattoos. I was surprised to see it was Guardian Daniel, but I hadn't known he also gave guardian tattoos.

When it was my turn, I sashayed confidently forward. When my scores were read, there were loud gasps – mine had been the highest scores out of all my classmates (at least, so far, but I didn't think anyone could beat me). I could see Mom sitting in the audience, clapping and wearing a proud look on her face. Dimitri was standing near the back, but as I met his eyes, he gave me a secret smile that showed how proud he was of me. I'd come a long way from the rebellious runaway who'd returned in the fall of my senior year.

I took a seat on the stool in front of Guardian Daniel. He sounded surprised as he studied the back of my neck. I had two molnija marks from Spokane, which brought back painful memories…

He managed to put the promise mark in the center of my neck, wrapping it around the molnija marks. If I remembered correctly from seeing Dimitri's, the promise mark was like a twisting line. The process stung, but I kept the pain off my face.

When the tattooing was over, I was given a white bandage to cover it up and care instructions. I ignored the instructions, since I'd already heard them when I'd received my first molnija marks.

* * *

The sun was already above the horizon when the ceremonies ended – seven at "night."

I hurried back to my dorm, and changed again. This time I changed into the red dress Dimitri had gotten for me that I'd worn on our first "date." I left my heels on, but quickly braided part of my hair. I applied a teeny bit of mascara to my eyelashes, and headed out the door.

I reached through the bond to find where Lissa was. She was already at the post-graduation party, with Christian. Rose, come to the party! she said, and flashed a location to me.

I hurried to the party, which was hosted in a different gym from the one I'd been in earlier.

All my fellow classmates were there, dressed up in their party clothes. I spotted a few underclassmen who must've known some seniors who'd taken them here.

When I spotted Adrian, my eyes widened in surprise. He was chatting with a tall, slim Moroi girl with unruly brown waves. She looked around a few times shyly.

"Jill!" I shouted as I hurried towards her.

Jill Mastrano looked up, her pale green eyes wide. I then noticed that the dress she wore complimented her eyes. For a startling moment, her eyes briefly reminded me of Lissa's. "Rose!" We hugged briefly and let go. "I love your dress! It's so pretty. That shade of red really goes with you. I wish I could look as pretty as you do. And this party is really cool. I can't wait till I'm a senior." Her eyes then went wide, sort of like a deer caught in headlights. "Oh, I almost forgot! Congratulations!"

"Thanks," I said with a laugh. "How did you get into the party?"

Jill opened her mouth to reply, but Adrian replied for her. "Jailbait here has Fire Boy as her magic trainer, so he asked her if she wanted to come and so she got in."

"Hey, what kind of a nickname is that?" Jill exclaimed, but there was a slight blush on her cheeks and she didn't sound that mad. I could tell that she had a slight crush on Adrian. That was pretty cute. "I'd rather be called Jill than by my full name."

"Sorry," Adrian said, shrugging and patting her on the head. She almost looked ready to pass out but held her composure pretty well.

I bade them farewell, and moved on to find Lissa. I had to admit, it would be nice to see if Adrian would eventually for Jill.

Lissa was chatting to Eddie, with Christian looking on. "Oh hello Rose," she said to me.

Christian gave me a brusque nod before returning to the conversation at hand. Lissa and Eddie continued talking about Court, and I spotted another figure through the crowd.

"_Mia_?" Geez, this really was turning into some type of high school reunion and we hadn't even all parted ways yet.

Mia came up to us. Yes, it really was her. Short frame, blue eyes, blond hair…Her blond hair was left straight with only a slight curl instead of being curled into doll-like ringlets. She laughed when she saw my expression.

"Yes, I'm back from the dead," she said, and we hugged. She also hugged Lissa, which greatly amused me, since we had all been enemies when we first returned to the Academy.

"How did you manage to get in? You're not even a senior," I said. And she didn't even go to the Academy anymore.

Mia shrugged. "I just snuck in. Crap security you guys."

"Good point," Christian muttered.

We spent the rest of the party dancing our asses off, and pigging out on all the food we could eat. To my disappointment, Adrian didn't linger with Jill. About an hour and a half into the party, he said his good-nights, presumably to get drunk in his room. Alone. Eddie chivalrously danced with Jill during the first slow dance song, and danced with Mia for the second. To my surprise, it looked like Mia was sort of eyeing him.

Lissa noticed it too. _Looks like Mia has noticed how Eddie looks tonight_, she said with a grin as she sipped her punch.

I gave her a look, and whispered, "But I can't even tell with Eddie."

She shrugged. _Hey you never know right? If Mia ever says anything, and if Eddie ever says anything, let's get them together_.

I sighed, but laughed and grabbed a glass of punch. I clinked it against hers. "To the future!"

"Cheers!" Jill piped in, lifting her own glass.

I walked Lissa and Christian to their dorms. Of course, Christian had to go with Lissa. I bade them good-night and started walking back to my own dorm. After what happened last time, I completely blocked her out of my mind.

I walked up to my room and headed straight for the closet before a voice spoke.

"Planning on going to bed so soon?"

I whirled around and saw that Dimitri was casually lounging on my bed, a slight smile on his face. "Comrade, what are you doing here?"

"I think I'll kidnap you for a night," he said with a wink as he got up and walked towards me to take my hands in his.

"Where are you taking me?" I asked, as he started tugging me towards the door. "And what if everyone's still out?"

"I'm taking you…somewhere," he said secretively.

I looked at him, confused. Then the meaning of his words sank in, and I blushed a little and looked down. "Oh…"

He leaned in and whispered, "Tonight you're formally a guardian. You did it, Roza. Now we can be together."

* * *

**Author's note**: One last chapter before I wrap this story up! And I'm going to be putting something in that some of you have been waiting for... ;D Should I make the last chapter a lemon or no? Reviews greatly appreciated :D !


	23. Chapter 23 A Blissful Night Together

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Vampire Academy.

Warning: There's going to be a lemon in this chapter…so shoo, little people! I'm trying to keep it classy and lovey-dovey, but there will be some M-rated things in this chapter. Also, this is the very first time I've written a lemon so hopefully it's not too bad. Enjoy ;)

* * *

Ch. 23 A Blissful Night Together

We waited in my room for another half hour before the last party stragglers had returned to bed, definitely breaking the curfew. There were probably more illicit partiers around, but they wouldn't notice us. At least, so I hoped. They'd probably be too busy getting drunk and partying their butts off tonight.

I felt very dressed up and conspicuous as Dimitri quietly opened the door. "Are you sure I shouldn't change?" I whispered.

Dimitri looked me up and down, and smiled. "If you do change right now…I might not be able to resist jumping you," he whispered flirtily.

I lightly brushed my finger across his cheek, causing him to shiver a little at my touch. "Okay, okay, I won't change." He peered around the door to make sure no one was in the hallway, and stepped out. I followed him, and shut the door behind me.

The sun was already very high in the sky as we headed off across campus although it wasn't noon yet. It felt weird to be sneaking around in broad daylight. I felt like we should be sneaking around when it was nighttime (aka "day"), but at this time, most of the school would be asleep.

"Where are you taking me?" I asked curiously as we started heading towards the back of campus. The last time I checked, there wasn't anywhere on campus that would give us the privacy we needed to finally consummate our relationship.

He turned and smirked. "It wouldn't be a surprise if I told you, right?" he asked.

I pretended to pout. "But I really want to know."

He suddenly leaned down and kissed my cheek. Of course, he'd kissed me many times, but in the months since we'd returned from Russia, he'd definitely kept his hands to himself. His lips felt so soft on mine, and I kind of wanted to just tackle him to the ground and kiss him all over.

We kept walking for five more minutes until we approached some cabins in a slightly forested area. I hadn't been here since last winter. Guardians used to stay in these cabins close to the wards to keep an eye out for Strigoi. Because guardian numbers had been gradually dropping over the years, the cabins were completely abandoned. Still, they were in pretty good condition for places that hadn't been maintained for many years.

"What…" I trailed off as Dimitri led me along and we finally stopped at a slightly smaller cabin. Although the sun was shining through the trees, I could tell that there were some lights glowing softly inside.

"Are you sure no one's home, Comrade?" I asked, giving him a suspicious look.

He pretended to look offended. "Of course not!"

"If you say so," I said as he opened the door.

* * *

The door spilled open to reveal a small three-window cabin. The curtains were parted to allow golden sunlight stream in.

Dimitri held the door open for me, and I stepped through first.

The floor was made of hard dark wood. There was a desk in one corner, and a nightstand on one side of the bed. And the bed…

It was a pretty big bed, but not as big as the ones in Court housing. The covers were white, and there were numerous plump, big pillows around the bed. To my surprise, dark red rose petals were scattered between the sheets. There were some candles on the nightstand that gave off a sweet rose scent.

Dimitri closed the door behind me very quietly. I turned around to face him, and the look in his eyes was filled with love …and a little bit of lust.

"I love you so much, Roza," he whispered, walking to me and planting a passionate kiss on my lips.

"I love you too," I whispered as I pulled a little away from him to look him in the eye.

He started unbuttoning my blouse, kissing me hungrily the whole time as he started undressing me. I barely noticed because I was taking his shirt off. The air around us felt heated and filled with electricity as we kissed. I ran my fingers down his muscled chest and down to his abs, allowing myself to drink him in. God, he had an amazing body. He was so sexy and perfect, and now I had him all to myself. He started pulling off my blouse, but I put my hand up to stop him. He looked confused as I stopped him. "What's wrong?"

"What if someone sees us?" I whispered. The windows were still open, and if someone happened to stroll by for some reason…

Dimitri hurried to the windows and pulled the curtains shut. I pulled off my blouse and unzipped my skirt, letting my clothes fall to the ground.

Dimitri came back to me, and his eyes opened wide when he just saw me standing there in my bra and underwear. He'd seen me in a lot less…but tonight, I was wearing some sexy lingerie under my clothes.

"Do you see something you like?" I whispered.

"I like everything, Roza," he murmured back.

His breathing got faster as I got closer. He kissed me pretty hard, which caused me to let out a slight whimper. It wasn't like him to kiss me like that, but I didn't mind. I could hear him sighing very softly as we kissed, and now I felt hot all over from his touch. We started moving towards the bed, not stopping as we kept kissing and kissing. He then pushed me down onto the bed, and then lightly straddled me.

I felt him lightly tracing my nose, my lips, my chin. He gently stroked my breasts, and I gasped at his touch. He trailed his fingers down a little lower, past my stomach and to the edge of my panties.

This time, I didn't push him away like the other times I'd done. He hesitated, and then moved his finger down so he was rubbing the outside of one of my most sensitive areas.

"Do you like this?" he whispered as he lightly kissed me.

"Yes," I whispered when he pulled away and started rubbing me a little harder.

To my surprise, I felt Dimitri hesitate for a moment and he pulled away from me. I looked up at him. "What…?"

"There's something I want to do to you…before we make love," Dimitri whispered, seeming a little embarrassed about saying the last two words.

I laughed softly. "You can do whatever you want to me, Comrade."

"I'm going to hold you to that," he whispered as he leaned in close to me and planted a hot passionate kiss on me.

He stopped, and then he slid his fingers back down to under my panties. This time, instead of massaging the outside…he actually put his finger inside.

I gasped when he put his finger inside of me. "Shh," Dimitri whispered as he continued putting his finger more in.

I started moaning, and he quickly pressed his mouth to mine and kissed me. Oh, that felt so good while he was touching me down there…My heart rate and breathing sped up as we made out, our tongues moving around in each other's mouths. "Dimitri," I gasped out. Dimitri kept rubbing my center, and I started squirming around on the bed as he touched me. He found my most sensitive spot and I moaned even louder, clenching at his back and shoulders.

"So wet, Roza," he whispered breathily in my ear, and he tried to pull away from me. I wasn't going to let him stop doing that, when it was sending such interesting sensations through me.

"Don't stop," I managed to pant out, my breath heavy from moaning.

He continued rubbing my center and kissing me as I moaned into his mouth. He rubbed me a little faster, and my breathing got even faster. He finally paused after a few minutes, and whispered, "Do you want to stop now?"

I nodded, and he took his finger out. Our eyes were locked for a moment. "Are…are you ready, Roza?" he whispered, his Russian accent becoming more pronounced as he spoke to me.

Was I ever. If him rubbing my center felt this good, God knew how amazing it would feel when we made love to each other. "Yes," I murmured.

"I don't want to hurt you, Roza," he continued.

"You won't," I said, leaning up and kissing him.

Since we were already on the bed, there was nothing but to remove our underwear. Even with the bra and underwear I wore, and his boxers, it felt like there was too much of a barrier between us.

We kissed passionately, and I could feel him dragging down my bra by the straps, not even bothering to unhook it. I reached behind me and unclasped it. He took my bra off and threw it somewhere. I slipped my fingers against his inner thigh. I trailed my fingers across the front of his boxers and I could feel his erection.

"Roza…" he breathed into my ear.

I smiled naughtily up at him as I moved my hand around, but not touching him where he wanted to be touched. He tried moving my hand down, but I held my hand out of his reach. "Be patient, Comrade."

"What if I don't want to be patient?" he asked, stroking my bare back and going down to my waist.

I smirked, and flipped our positions so that I was now the one on top of him. "Too bad, you still have to be patient."

He let out a small groan as I continued rubbing against him. I decided to tease him, and slowly moved my hand until my hand was inside his boxers. God he felt so big.

"Roza," he whispered again, his breathing getting faster as I rubbed him. He sighed contentedly several times.

He pulled away and I watched him with a little shock. I thought he'd liked-

Then, with quick reflexes, he flipped me so he was on top of me again, straddling me. "I want you right now," he whispered.

I lifted my head and kissed him hard as I eased down his boxers and tossed them aside. "I want you too."

He pressed himself even closer to me as we kissed, and I could feel his erection near my inner thigh. Desire ran through me, and now I couldn't wait for him to get inside of me…

He positioned his tip at my center, and then he looked me in the eye. "I love you, Roza," he whispered to me before he went in, filling me completely.

I let out a moan as he went a little faster inside of me, and I arched up against him. "Oh, Dimitri," I gasped out, squirming on the bed as he started to make love to me. I opened up a little more so it would be easier to him to go in. He thrust inside of me, and I felt like I was going to be driven back into the bed, but it felt so good. I thrust my hips against him as he moved inside of me. I felt complete after all this time.

I'd never dreamed this was how it would feel like, being in bed with Dimitri and having him look at me like I was the most wonderful, beautiful woman in the world. It hurt a little, but every time I flinched, he would kiss me and make it all better. I was uncertain about what to do, but Dimitri was so gentle and patient with me. Every time he touched me, I would shiver all over. My body felt extremely sensitive to him, and there were new and exciting sensations running through me.

When we finally finished, we were still holding each other close, like we couldn't get enough of each other. "This…was the most amazing night of my life," I said a little shyly to him.

Dimitri laughed, and gently moved his hand from my shoulder down to my hip, and stroked my hip before he kissed my shoulder. "Roza, I've dreamed about this night with you for so long."

"You have?" I asked, surprised. "I would've thought…you'd try to not think of anything like that and be professional."

He laughed again and kissed me, lingering softly against my mouth. When he pulled away, he said, "I tried, but how could I not think about this? Whenever I fell asleep at night, this was what I dreamed about. This is also the most amazing night of my entire life, Roza."

After a little more talking and kissing, I drifted off to sleep in his arms, on a cloud of bliss.

* * *

**Author's note**: So this is the last chapter of Sweetest Temptation! I had no idea of how to write a lemon, so I took a couple of days to write this. I hope you liked reading my fanfic, and enjoyed the ending!

I also wanted to give a huge thank-you to everyone who reviewed and read my story! When I first started writing this, I didn't expect to have so many people like this fanfic. Thank you so much to all my readers, because without you, I don't think my story would've been possible.

~ eveningstar1996 ~

PS: I will continue writing more Rose and Dimitri fanfics...I already started on another one, so if you liked this one, check that one out too if you would like :D Thank you again to everyone!


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